HIMALAYAS ATTRACTING ACTORS

By Our Film Critic

In a span of just two months two famous actors, one from Bollywood and the other from Kollywood (Tamil films) visited the Himalayas for the same purpose- otherworldliness. But both are as different as chalk and  cheese.  One is the Tamil super star 73-year-old Rajnikanth and the other is a young Hindi actress Sara Ali Khan. The former went to

the mountains for meditation and medication and the latter for the annual Amarnath Yatra.

Shivaji Rao Gaikwad better known as Rajinikanth dashed off to the Himalayas even before formal release of his hugely successful latest film Jailer. It is a black comedy action film and marks the return of Rajinikanth to the silver screen after two years due to health reasons. Rajinikanth followed the tradition of taking a trip to the Himalayas after shooting each film. He enjoys travelling to the serene Himalayas for spiritual retreats after each film barring a break in 2010 when he was not well.

But why does the actor from the South go to the Himalayas every time? Some sources close to him personally claim that the aging actor derives energy from meditation. He goes to the  Himalayas   often and meets sages who give him certain roots of medicinal plants to remain composed and young. Once that root is eaten, it will energise the body, it said. This is the secret behind the 73-year-old actor looking young even now.

This time he was advised not to visit the Himalayas since it is raining heavily but he did not budge.Sara Ali Khan Pataudi, famous actress of the Pataudi family on her spiritual yatra paid obeisance at the holy cave shrine in the Himalayas. She visited the Martand sun temple in south Anantnag district of Kashmir before embarking on the yatra. The young actress visited the Sonamarg resort – on the way to Baltal in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district – and enjoyed the breath-taking views at the Thajiwas glacier.

Sara clicked pictures with local children and also had tea at a temporary shelter. She also interacted with fellow pilgrims during the long trekking. She later shared the photos of her visit on Instagram. ‘’When the soul is content and the hamstrings are sore. Bakri se phir bacchon se ki dosti. And then we had the chai I adore (sic),’’ she wrote in the caption. Born into the Pataudi family, she is the daughter of actors Amrita Singh and Saif Ali Khan. Sara is often seen visiting spiritual places to offer prayers and seek blessings from the deities.