Despite acquiring a yellow belt in judo, karate and taekwondo, and spending his childhood indulging in sports like football and kho-kho, Siddhant Chaturvedi never looked at fitness as an identity until the age of 26. “I have played my way through fitness,” says the actor, speaking to mid-day from the sidelines of the Skechers Mumbai Walkathon.

“I love combat, and especially kicking. In the city, buried under skyscrapers, there’s hardly any place to play. That’s also the reason I signed up for a [football league].”

He presents a unique case when highlighting his love for sports like parkour. “In a city where you want to reach from point A to B in a short time, you need to run while navigating obstacles. That  is why I learnt the sport for two years. The idea of reaching destinations in the shortest time possible, and leaping over obstacles [appealed to me]. The drills are so challenging that becoming fit is a by-product. In fact, I was shooting for an action film that releases next year. And while the [international] team was to turn up here three months ahead of the shoot to train me, they decided that they only needed a month, because I showed them videos of what I could pull off.”

The actor pins the blame of his inability to easily acquire a desired “aesthetic appearance for cinema”, on his mother. “While that kind of a body is not even healthy, and is very difficult to acquire, it’s tough for me, because I live with my family, and my mother is a brilliant cook. She doesn’t let me acquire those [defined] abs as quickly as I could. So, when I shoot outdoors, like I did for Gehraiyaan and my upcoming action film in Portugal, I can get fitter, faster, because she’s not around.”

Even if work keeps him busy, Siddhant Chaturvedi makes it a point to actively participate in the annual seven-day Ganpati celebrations at his housing society in Goregaon. The actor and his family participate in the various events organised during the festival, including live performances, bhajans and the visarjan, which he was a part of on Tuesday night.

Sporting an ethnic kurta, Siddhant performed a puja at the pandal and danced to the tunes of dholtaasha before the visarjan took place. Unlike in the past, this year, the residents had installed an artificial pool in the premises of the society to immerse the idol.

“This experience was very different from the earlier ones when we would take the idol from Goregaon to Powai in a truck. Through the journey, my friends and I would dance barefoot on the streets to the tunes of Nashik dhol, smear gulal on each other and have vada pav on our way back,” shares the Gully Boy actor, adding, “This time around, the visarjan was in the building premise, but it went on for four hours, during which we did the puja and danced a lot before seeing Bappa off. We bid Ganpati Bappa adieu with a heavy heart and look forward to welcoming him back next year. ”

Talking about the festivities this year, Siddhant shares, “This year, a few members staged a play around the birth of Lord Ganesha, and I was amazed by the production set-up. It looked so professional. My mom paid a tribute to Lata Mangeshkar by dancing to her songs. My brother, a singer and musician who has been learning Hindustani classical music for the last seven years, sang bhajans every morning. Meanwhile, I did the evening aartis and even joined the aunties in my building for community dinner. It was a lot of fun.”

He further adds, “I have a lot of respect for the stage here as this is where I was groomed. While I did theatre, it was on this stage that I danced, hosted and acted in plays while growing up. It also taught me teamwork. In these seven days, you feel like you are a part of a community... there’s this feeling of belonging and being rooted.”

Though Siddhant has his own space in Juhu, that hasn’t stopped him from joining in the celebrations at his Goregaon residence. “My place in Juhu is meant for get-togethers with friends and work meetings. Otherwise, I park myself here. My family is here. It feels good to come back home, where my mom opens the door for me. I also get to have home-cooked food. I can’t let go of this. So, while the Juhu home is like my creative space, I enjoy family time here.”