Diganth, Prajwal, Pranitha and others are all following sports for fitness now

The past few months have given many Sandalwood actors a break from their otherwise hectic shooting schedule. Besides making the most of the time with family, many actors have picked up new hobbies and also taken to sports and fitness activities ranging from cycling to rock climbing. And though shoots are scheduled to resume soon, many of them intend to continue pursuing these fitness activities.


Badminton finds many takers
Suraj Gowda, for example, is now playing badminton regularly. “I wanted to be engaged in some kind of sport and thought badminton and football were the best options. I always ensure I burn 1,000 calories a day and badminton helps me burn maximum calories. I occasionally play football as well and I will stick to playing badminton even though gyms are opening now.”


Badminton has also been taken up by Team KGF, which includes Bhuvan Gowda and Prashanth Neel. And we hear that actors Dhananjaya, Vasishta N Simha, Rajshri Ponnappa and Kavya Shetty have also been playing badminton regularly in recent times. Meanwhile, filmmaker Suni and his gang are more inclined towards football and have been frequenting the grounds often.

Everyone loves a game of cricket
Cricket is one of the nation's favourite sports and almost everyone grows up playing the sport. Actor Prajwal Devaraj, who is a fan of the sport, organised a friendly cricket tournament (which they called Dynamic league) with his father Devaraj, brother Pranam and the house staff participating. And Dheeren Ramkumar and Vinay Rajkumar have also been indulging in the occasional game of cricket too to stay fit.


The pedal pushers
Among those who have taken up cycling, is Sindhu Loknath. “As there were no traffic snarls these paasf few months, I was able to cycle long distances. To cycle long distance, fitness is really important as there are chances of knee and back injury. So strengthening the knees and back is important before taking up long distance cycling," says Sindhu, who used to play football in college.


Singer Vijay Prakash, Upendra and his family too, have taken up cycling, while Bhuvann Ponnannaa prefers to cycle in groups. “I cycle with a group that includes Ganesh, Amulya’s husband Jagadish and director Preetham Gubbi. Most of the time our destination is Dodda Aalada Mara which is on the outskirts of Bengaluru. Cycling helps visual and mind coordination,” he shares.

Seeking thrills
Diganth and wife Aindrita Ray, who have always been ambassadors of cycling, are trying more adventurous activities now. "We've gone rock climbing and trekking across different spots near Bengaluru and Coorg, when we had gone for a family holiday. This gives us a sense of adventure and is also a great way of testing our stamina and keeping fit," says Diganth.

Making the most of her time, Pranitha Subhash has learnt horse riding. She trains for an hour, four times a week and confesses to enjoying her classes. “First of all, you have to build a bond with the horse. I feed him carrots, talk to him for a while, call him by his name and then go on the ride,” shares the actor.

- With inputs by Sunayana Suresh and Madhu Daithota