At the Bollywood Hungama OTT Fest 2025, Milind Soman revisited his early modelling journey, offering a calm and reflective look at how he entered the world of fashion, the choices he made as a young man, and why he eventually moved forward without holding on to that phase of his life.
Speaking about the very beginning of his career, Milind shared, “I began modelling in my 20s, long before acting, fitness, or long-distance running became part of my life. Honestly, it was never a dream or a planned career path. I did it mainly because it paid well at a time when earning money mattered more than chasing long-term ambitions.”
One of the key reasons he was so comfortable in front of the camera—even during bold shoots—came from his athletic background. “I was very comfortable with my body. That came from being a competitive swimmer,” he said. “I didn’t want any validation. Again, that came from swimming. I was the national champion for many years. I had national records for ten years and state records for almost twenty. So, I was already very secure.”
Transitioning from sports to modelling happened unexpectedly. “People loved my body, which was something new for me because I moved from swimming to modelling completely by chance,” he explained. “I didn’t want to be a model. I didn’t talk about it. I didn’t even know modelling was a professional career. Then somebody said, ‘Can we offer you lots of money to do this photoshoot?’ I said, ‘Yeah, okay. Lots of money is good, right?’ So I did that shoot, and then it just went on and on.”
Milind soon became known for his versatility and willingness to experiment. “I could do all kinds of clothes with designers. I wasn’t shy. I wanted to do something new and interesting. That was my only intention,” he said.
Addressing the early nude photoshoots that often spark conversations even today, he approached the topic with clarity and composure. “I was completely comfortable posing nude,” he said. “For me, it wasn’t shocking or dramatic—it was just part of the job. I saw it as work, not a statement.”
He also recalled one of the most talked-about photoshoots of his career from 1995. “When that ad came to me, I was 30 then. Now I’m 60,” he noted with a smile. “They said the best photographer in the country, Prabuddha Dasgupta, is going to shoot it. I didn’t think much about it.”
But the final result left a lasting impact on him—especially because of his mother’s reaction.
“I loved the pictures, and my mother loved the pictures, which was more important,” he said. “That was the validation. My mother loved the photographs. Who cares about everybody else?”
Reflecting on his early gym-themed or bold shoots, he explained that he never felt the need to repeat them later. “Those images belonged to a very specific moment in my youth—an age of exploration, spontaneity, and financial motivation,” he said. “They represented who I was at 18, not who I became later.”
Milind summarised his early modelling career as something that unfolded naturally, without any grand plan. “It shaped how people first saw me, but I never considered those shoots as defining my identity or goals,” he said. “I stepped into modelling for practical reasons, embraced the work as it came, and eventually moved forward without attachment.”
His reflections offered a grounded and insightful look into a formative period—one marked by opportunity, experimentation, confidence, and the freedom of youth—before he discovered his true direction beyond the runway and the camera.
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