Milind Soman

Long before Alisha Chinai's music video Made in India made him famous in 1995, Milind Soman was a competitive swimmer. He represented India at the first South Asian Federation Games in Kathmandu in 1984 and came home with a silver medal. Born Milind Usha Soman in Glasgow, Scotland, on 4 November 1965, he spent his early childhood there before his family moved back to Mumbai in 1973, and he later earned a diploma in electrical engineering. Model, actor, producer and endurance athlete, he began acting on television in 1995 with A Mouthful of Sky. The science-fiction series Captain Vyom and Sea Hawks followed on the small screen. His films include Tamil titles such as Pachaikili Muthucharam and Paiyaa, Hindi films including Agni Varsha, Bheja Fry and Bajirao Mastani, the Marathi film Gandha, and international projects such as Valley of Flowers and the Swedish film Arn – The Knight Templar, in which he played Saladin. He produced the Hindi film Rules: Pyaar Ka Superhit Formula and the TV serial Ghost Bana Dost, competed on Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi 3, and appeared in the streaming series Four More Shots Please. He completed an Ironman in 2015 and entered the Limca Book of Records for running 1,500 km in 30 days. He is also in the Malayalam film Udumbanchola Vision (2026), released on 21 October.