While recounting the mid-1990s’ video of the Alisha Chinai song ‘Made in India’ that catapulted the much-popular supermodel to cult status, Milind Soman in his recently released autobiography, Made in India: A Memoir, reminds the reader how he was on-screen for a mere 53 seconds. The impact of the appearance can be gauged from the fact that Soman, a former ace swimmer who won the senior men’s title at the national swimming championship for four consecutive years between 1984-87, and also one of India’s first supermodels long before he featured in the video, calls his memoirs Made in India. Written with Roopa Pai, the book has Soman reliving his life with a kind of honesty, and sincerity that is mostly missing when a celebrity decides to pen an autobiography.
Usually, the first thing that pops up in one’s mind when it comes to most celebrities, say, for instance, Nargis or Prakash Padukone, is the image that has come to define them—such as the iconic Mother India and winning the All England Championship, respectively. When it comes to Soman, he has had so many successful avatars that the singular image that could define him in the minds of people depends on how old they were when they first came across him. Soman is a perfect example of that rare celebrity whose life and achievements despite being known to a large number of India still have many gaps.
For most people who grew up in the late 1980s and the 1990s, Soman would probably be nothing more than a good-looking man, who, having found himself at the point where fashion was coming of age in India, got to ride the wave. Later, he transitioned into a TV and film actor. There is no denying that Soman has been a lucky chap, but once you read his story, you realise that he worked hard to create the luck.
As one of India’s best swimmers of the 1980s, Soman was destined to represent India at the Asian Games, and could have probably won an Olympic gold too but saw it all go to dust when he didn’t play the game. Soman’s attitude and self-belief made him think that he didn’t need to grease the wheels that moved the system (read sports officials) in the India of the 1980s. It was on a lark that Soman decided to give modelling a shot. His first assignment fetched him `50,000 in 1989, and he soon became a sensation. Some months later, Soman was approached by the then-unknowns Tarun Tahiliani and Rohit Khosla to model for the store ‘Ensemble’ and he worked for practically nothing because the “mad glint in their eyes” appealed to him.
Written in a fluid, non-fussy style, Made in India is Soman free-wheeling with the reader. He doesn’t make much about what he managed to achieve in a short span of time across different platforms. At the same time, Soman doesn’t shy away from talking about the dark stuff that includes his largely unknown rage issues. Many of us know that Soman was cast as the antagonist in Mansoor Khan’s Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar, but hardly anyone had an idea why he walked out of the film before Deepak Tijori replaced him. Some of the best parts of the book appear without warning in each alternate chapter that captures his thoughts as he runs a marathon.
Milind Soman’s life is also a chronicle of the post-liberalisation India that broke through where he had had a ringside seat and not only witnessed the zeitgeist but played a role in defining it. There is a lot more to Made in India than the headline-grabbing episode about Soman being a part of an RSS Shakha while growing up or him marrying a much younger woman. It’d be unfortunate if his story gets limited to a particular incident. In most countries, Soman would be nothing less than a role model of sorts where tales about him giving up his addictions or successfully completing the Ironman and Ultraman challenges at 50 or constantly looking for the next challenge with an attitude that’s all about moving on would be life lessons for an entire generation.
Made in India: A Memoir
By: Milind Soman
Publisher: Penguin
Pages: 256
Price: ₹499