I have six pack abs, but I don’t show it, says Rahul Bose

An actor, director, script-writer, a sportsperson and an activist, all rolled into one, while speaking exclusively to Onlymyhealth.com, Rahul Bose spoke about his concept of healthy mind and healthy body.

On Metrosexual Men

Q. The metrosexual man seems to be on every advertisement, every movie, everywhere you see. They don’t mind getting manicures, facials and spending their time getting treatments. Do you fit in that category?

Rahul Bose: I certainly am not that kind. Actually, I don’t call myself metrosexual, or a primitive man, or a new age man or anything like that. However, it is healthy to have a manicure or a pedicure depending if you need it. When I am playing rugby and other sports, I need to get my corns removed, I need a pedicure. I see nothing wrong in being hygienic. To be hygienic is good but to be obsessed with how you look and beautify yourself to look in a particular way is self-defeating and self-destructive for a man. At the same time, if there is someone who wants to pluck their eyebrow, why should anyone else have a problem with that? It should not affect us. Most definitely, the old notions of masculinity are changing these days.

On HIV/AIDS

Q. HIV/AIDS, the spread refuses to stop, the fear looms large, what do you think is lacking and how can we overcome the disease and its fear?

Rahul Bose: Decent amount of work has been done in the field of HIV/AIDS. What remains a stumbling block is the ignorance and prejudice within the people’s community. This has resulted in a tragic case of neglect of many HIV Patients. There is a lack of response from people and the fear has resulted in minimal instructions on safe sex. The ignorance leads to unsafe sex and this ignorance can be devastating. However, a lot has been improving. We are halfway there or maybe not even half way there. But things will change.

On Cancer

Q. There is a perception that many film stars die of cancer. Is that true?  Is it something to do with lifestyle?

Rahul Bose: The perception that film stars die of cancer is absolutely false. Perhaps they are the ones that become known.   Cancer can affect anyone. It is in most cases genetic and it could be just sheer chance.

To blame the cause of cancer on the western influence in India or even the changing lifestyle is a mumbo jumbo. It is out of ignorance. It is a fact that about 99 out of 100 people who visit a doctor and get prescriptions for medication do not even ask what will the particular medicine do.

Note: This interview was given to onlymyhealth.com by Rahul Bose Last year