Actor Radhika Apte on her love for deep sea diving, overcoming fears and the rush of being dropped into the middle of the ocean
As told to Kunal Guha (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 4, 2019)

My diving journey began last year, when film director Homi Adajania introduced me to a friend of his who taught diving. It barely took me one night to decide that it was something I wanted to attempt. Prior to this, my knowledge of diving was fairly limited, but I had always been curious about the underwater world.

And so, for my first dive, I flew to the Maldives, which, I am told, is a preferred spot for amateur divers. The excellent reefs and abundant marine life offered a peek into the glorious underwater world.

My trainer briefed me on the essentials that every diver is expected to know before, quite literally, taking the plunge: “keep blowing bubbles”, “watch your fins”, “monitor air pressure throughout the dive”, and “always attempt a dive when you’re completely certain of going through with it”.

Once I felt I was fairly prepared and somewhat confident, I was hooked up with the diving gear. It was time to head for the high seas. Ignoring my mangled nerves and a sense of trepidation, I dived in. If there’s one memory that I will take to my grave, it has to be the rush of being dropped into the middle of the ocean for the very first time. The first thing that occurs to you as you begin your descent is how surreal this experience of being secluded from the world is. Time slows down, and you shift your focus to negotiating changing currents and temperatures.

My first dive was to a depth of 80 metres, and as I made my descent, I grew profoundly conscious of the sheer expanse of the sea. Then, as I swam past exotic, aquatic creatures, it felt meditative. Taking in all of this can be a humbling experience, and you realise your insignificant presence in this universe.

I was initially skeptical about whether I’d be able to navigate underwater. In retrospect, I feel the diffidence may have had to do with a childhood misadventure: I was once stranded in the middle of the sea in Goa, and had to be rescued. I had been petrified of the sea ever since, so while I was excited by the prospect of interacting with marine life, it was also daunting. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to train myself to breathe from the mouth rather than through the nose — as is required while deep sea diving. But with measured movements and conscious effort, I found myself doing it — and before I knew it, I was swimming past glorious corals on the seafloor.

The experience of observing marine life and corals at such close quarters is a sensory experience like no other. I was bitten by the diving bug, and have, since, hunted for opportunities to explore marine life at other popular diving spots around the world. Aside from the Maldives, I’ve dived in the Dead Sea, and in Egypt. From being mesmerized by the tiniest of creatures in their natural habitat to swimming with sharks, sea lions and dolphins, my underwater adventures have been educational and euphoric in equal parts.

That said, I’ve also had my share of misadventures. The most memorable scare was when we were caught in a down current — this is a situation where one feels that one is swimming upwards, but is actually being pushed downwards by the current. Since I was with seasoned professionals, I was able to get through it without any injuries. With proper training and by adhering to the fundamentals, diving is, after all, a fairly safe recreational sport.

My favourite diving spot has to be the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador. But this is not a spot for amateur divers and one should only attempt it after having trained for some time. The sea here can be choppy, so divers are required to have mastered rough water techniques. Skipping over even a single part of the process can prove disastrous.

Focus is important, as is preparation — it’s best to go through a checklist to make sure every box has been ticked off. But apart from sticking to the technique and gearing up suitably, diving requires one to be in the right mind space.

One of the best tips I’ve received is to never attempt a dive unless you’re 100 per cent sure you want to go through with it.

But my greatest takeaway has been that fear only exists in our thoughts. It’s a product of one’s imagination and, more often than not, not real at all.

Actor to kick off third part of action franchise Baaghi in Mumbai, followed by a marathon schedule abroad
Himesh Mankad (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 23, 2019)

In December last year, Sajid Nadiadwala announced that Tiger Shroff would return as the rebel Ronny in the third installment of the Baaghi franchise, which would be unveiled on March 6, 2020. Soon after, it was revealed that the climax of Baaghi 3 would see the leading man defend a city or a desert in a larger-than-life finale. Now, Mirror has learnt that the action-thriller goes on the floors in Mumbai in July.

According to a source close to the development, filming starts with Tiger at a city studio, and after a week of solo sequences, the actor will be joined by his leading lady, Shraddha Kapoor towards July-end. She will juggle between Baaghi 3 and the promotions of Nitesh Tiwari’s Chhichhore.

Following a brief stint in the Maximum City, director Ahmed Khan and his team will fly abroad for a marathon schedule. “Georgia and Jordan are in contention as potential locations, the latter for its desert and the former for its row houses and buildings. The final call will be taken after inputs from the stunt and creative teams, as also permissions,” informed the source.

The team is on a recce in Egypt, Serbia, Turkey and Morocco. One of these countries will be shortlisted for a short schedule after the primary location is locked.

Mirror had earlier reported that Tiger has been bulking up for the film as the action scenes will be on the lines of Sylvester Stallone’s Rambo. “He will be presented as a larger-than-life, shirtless hero who would perform stunts designed by an international team,” the source concluded. 

Actress Radhika Apte recalls her many adventures, from Budapest to Zanzibar
Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 28, 2015)

Radhika Apte has just returned from a much needed vacation in the Himalayas with her musician husband, Benedict Taylor. And along with a sense of awe inspired by the majestic mountains, she also feels a niggling sense of disappointment.

The actress hiked from Raibareli to Kausani, through the Valley of Flowers to Hemkund and then on to Badrinath, Mannar and Rishikesh. Apte was shocked to see the high levels of pollution in the religious shrines. "Doesn't religion teach you about hygiene and cleanliness?" she asks. "There were plastic bottles lying everywhere, even on glaciers at 45,000 feet. Ashrams have turned into resorts. There are a lot more people and a lot less quiet."

Apte had visited Joshimath and Badrinath, then travelled up north as a child. The memories are cloudy. The family friends she'd gone with insisted that a lot has changed. She wanted to revisit some of these places and see for herself. It was as much a trip down memory lane as a recce of sorts for an under-the-wraps project. She's returned rejuvenated but also somewhat disheartened by the human erosion of picture-perfect nature.

Wanderlust bit Apte early. Her mother shares her love for travelling and they have gone trekking in Kashmir, Himachal, and Uttaranchal together. She's also travelled through Rajasthan extensively and still has vivid memories of the many hues of the Pink City. She remembers watching the solar eclipse in the deserts of Jaisalmer through makeshift glasses in the '90s.

"I remember there was a magician travelling with us who'd keep us entertained. One trick was getting us to write the name of our favourite sweet on a piece of paper which he'd fold, say the hocus pocus mantra, then ask us to unfold and lick. It always tasted like the rasgullas, gulab jamuns and laddoos we were craving for. It was only later that he revealed that the paper was dusted with sugar powder and he was using human psychology to trick us into believing that we'd got the mithai of our choice," Apte chuckles.

She recalls another trip, in her teens, to a repertory in Mussoorie where a friend taught. From there, she headed to Dalhousie and then to Manali on a "deluxe bus".

"Once on the bus, I realised that the seats were soaking wet. I pointed it out to the conductor who smiled and said that he'd just washed them," narrates Apte, who tore up a cardboard box holding bottled water to line her wet seat.

But a more pressing problem was her neighbour who dozed off, and kept dropping his head on her shoulder. Sleep-deprived, she decided to shift to seat next to the driver. He was an elderly, paternal sardar who got off midway, urged her to skip Manali and go home with him.

Despite the shocking proposition, Apte braved an overnight journey on a state transport bus where she was the only female passenger. "I don't know if I'd be as brave or as naive today," she admits with a laugh, adding that she can't forget the yummy rajma chawal she had at the dhabha where the bus stopped for dinner.

Soon after high school, the 19-year-old with wandering feet decided to backpack through Europe by herself. It didn't matter that having been to a Marathi medium school in Pune, her English wasn't too fluent or that she had never been abroad.

Just like Kangana Ranaut's character in Queen, Apte went to Amsterdam and visited the sex shops, attended live performances and even befriended a showgirl who'd discovered that she was partially of Indian descent.

Then, she was off to France via Luxembourg. Stepping out of the Gare du Nord railway station in Paris — where she ducked into a shop to call her friend who was supposed to meet her — Apte had her first brush with racism. "The lady inside was livid when I told her I couldn't speak French. Snatching the receipt from me, she pointed me to the door warning me not to enter her shop again," recounts Apte.

Later, when her friend arrived, he found her sobbing on the phone. He wiped her tears and convinced her that the French weren't all that bad. "I even stayed for 10 days in a studio apartment housing film school students. Being with them was such a revelation."

Since she didn't want to borrow money from her parents and because theatre didn't pay much, she had to rough it out or hope to sign a film which would take her to picturesque locations. "I did Shor In the City because I needed Rs 45,000 to go to Zanzibar for a theatre festival. They paid me Rs 60,000," she reminisces.

Another trip to Colombo with Sri Lankan dancer friends changed the course of her life. Apte quit theatre, left Pune and moved to London to learn contemporary dance.

In Edinburgh, she met a 92-year-old who was conducting the Buena Vista Tour. From there, it was on to the Scottish isles where she met her husband Benedict, a British musician who has composed the score for the recently-released film Killa. He spent a year in South Africa shuttling from one farm to the next, working in the fields to afford a living. "Some day, may be I can do that too," she smiles.

Among her many adventures, Apte has chased a bus all the way to its next stop in Italy with a friend, schooled in Kallari in Kerala and spent evenings on the beach eating freshly-caught fish. In Egypt, she befriended four brothers who lived by the pyramids and sold jewellery and carvings which they made themselves. "One of them knew all about me, my life, and could even recite my favourite poem. It was spookily romantic," she giggles.

Friends come easy to the girl with a bright smile. She remembers reaching Budapest — after changing four trains — and then being unable to locate the address of the Hungarian director who wanted to cast her.

Unfazed, she went to a nearby cafe, struck up a friendship with the owner and ended up spending five days with him and his theatre friends, exploring the city. "I finally located the lady I'd come to meet. Her film never got made but I ended up making several new friends whom I'd like to revisit someday," she says.

For the past two years, all the travelling she's been doing has been for work. That's no fun for Apte because the itinerary is planned, she stays in five-stars and is driven around in air-conditioned cars. "It's all so touristy. And as Paul Theroux once said, 'Tourists don't know where they've been, travellers don't know where they are going," smiles the actress who loves to travel.