At a time when cosmetic beauty consciousness is at a peak and health/fitness consciousness is bottom low in our country, it is natural for many to have an idiotic curiosity about actor Saif Ali Khan walking normally two days after a spinal surgery. His doctors are having to give a crash course on social media platforms about the advances made by modern medicine.
The actor was stabbed by a burglar at his home last Sunday and had he not been rushed to the hospital for immediate medical help, the outcome of his story would have been sad.
That Saif is not just one of those phoney macho men of Hindi films, but a sturdy, sporty guy in real life and a man of great spirit, is proved by this account given by the burglar who attacked him: Saif’s grip over him was so hard that the only way he could get released was by stabbing him wherever he could. Even after being stabbed, Saif locked him up, although the burglar managed to escape.
The doctors who attended on him immediately, and those who did a spinal surgery, commended Saif’s spirit. He walked to the hospital bleeding all over, but like a lion, said one, and the first thing Saif asked post-surgery was if he could gym and shoot films, said the other doctor. Saif is clearly made of sterner mind and body than most men one third his age.
He is not just pumping up his body with protein shakes and gyming—the two obsessions of many young Indian men over the last 40 years. Saif is evidently actually working on his fitness in the true spirit of a sportsman and good actor. In the film world, where looks matter, it is important to have a good physique. Thankfully, most heroes of popular Hindi cinema these days, even into their 50s, look fit. And they can pass off as young.
This is in sharp contrast to the actors of the yore. Other than the trio of Raj Kumar, cop-turned-actor, Dharmendra with a natural athletic body and Vinod Khanna to some extent, the others looked decades older than the young roles they played. The Kapoor brothers, Raj, Shammi and Shashi, all had a weight problem. In the case of Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan, their respective safari suits and bell bottoms just did not go with their uncared for forms.
Most Indian men and women across vocation and class have forgotten that a fit look is not only good to behold, but also great for the one who wears it. A body toned and trained in youth not only looks attractive, but also goes a very long way in ensuring good health in the advancing years.
Look at the thousands of cops, especially the rank and file, all over the country. With their big bellies fluffing them up from chest downwards to the belted waist, they look downright unfit for the job, and repulsive. Nobody at the top in any state is even aware that to inspire public confidence, cops must look fit.
The defence forces have strict rules about physical fitness, which includes body weight, their promotions depend upon it. There is need for a similar discipline in the police.
Look at labourers, be they construction workers, farm hands, carpenters, painters, gardeners and other hardy workers. The work they do and the ‘mota anaj’ (whole food) they eat, should make them very sturdy. Until four decades ago, at least in north India, they were among the best forms I saw. But now they are all hollowing themselves out with tobacco consumption in one form or another, or they are falling prey to diseases caused by food cooked in refined oils and cancerous masalas.
It is pathetic that a whole workforce of a country should thus commit slow suicide and the government should look the other way. There are only two mass leaders who have expressed concern about it in their public discourses over the last 20 years, Baba Ram Dev and (late) Dr. Rajiv Dixit. Their campaign for a healthy India in keeping with the country’s glorious traditions, be it hath yog or the scores of herbal and kitchen cures, has been vigorous and concerted.
They have done great good in terms of spreading awareness, never mind the negative chatter, especially against Ram Dev. The chattering class, especially in the “social media cesspool”, can only see as far as to say that the attack on Saif was fake. The fact that it was a Maharashtra minister who first let loose his tongue on the incident is shameful.
Saif can, however, take solace in the knowledge that even an open assassination attempt on US President Donald Trump was seen as fake by his opponents. The whole world saw Trump bleed after he was shot on stage at a public rally during the election campaign, but his opponents said it was stage-managed.
The rumour-mongering against Saif over the stabbing incident cannot dilute the fact that he is a spirited and inspiring 54-year-young man.
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