Arjun Rampal

I look at fitness as a necessity in the same way as how you drink water, eat food, one should look at fitness in a dedicated way. People will look fresh and happy. If you are happy, you in a way look fit.

I believe that fitness needs to come from within you. You need to respect your body. Only then will you have the zeal to maintain it. For me, keeping fit is a part of my lifestyle.

Almost 70 per cent of your fitness battle is won the day you realise what your body needs and when. I've made my own diets, and I decide for myself what works for me.

I can bulk up very fast. I can lift heavy weights because, like most people, I started off with heavy workouts. That's stayed in my muscle memory. I feel horrible when I feel my jeans are getting tight. Workouts peace me out.

Going to religious places gives me clarity. When I am sitting there, I am in a state of gratitude with my defence mechanism down and am open to receiving that energy, that gives me clarity as at that time, you are listening to your heart. The heart shows you the direction in life. The mind exists only to execute your emotion.

I think it is a combination of looks, aura, success, the energies that one gives out, the person you are and the person you feel like that makes you 'desirable.' When the outside world sees you as a man who is responsible for himself and his family, as a man who is fit and sensitive, it kind of ups your desirability.

Physical attributes can make you appealing, but to keep the appeal going, one has to draw from within. You have to be a real person. Your fans and the people you associate with have to be able to see beyond your looks. You have to be a good friend, dutiful son and a good family man.

India needs a change - it cannot be ruled by 80-year-olds and by people who have done nothing for it.

I think it is easier for thinner people to build on a frame once you get lean muscle. I get bored lifting weights at the gym, and it isn't enough as your body becomes stiff. So I train in different ways such as core training, cardio with weights, playing sports such as tennis, cycling, swimming and running 10 km once a week.

At times, I do Tabata, a high-intensity Japanese training regimen, in which I must do 20 seconds of a specific body part with 10 seconds of rest. This must be done eight times within four minutes. Your heart rate shoots through the roof, but you burn a lot of fat.

Many times an actor is stuck for the lack of choices. The same happened with me when I started my career. That was the time when mainly romantic films were being made, and that is what I was offered all the time.

Age doesn't mean anything. Its all in your head. Men get sexier with age. They also get wiser and get experienced.