FLOW STATE

If you only look as good as you feel, Samantha Ruth Prabhu is feeling good indeed. Over a workout session in Khar, she chats with SADAF SHAIKH about breaking down and building herself anew. Photographed by BIKRAMJIT BOSE. Styled by DEVANSHI TULI.

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So many things can go wrong during your first month of training at the gym. You could easily lift seven-kilogram dumbbells off the rack and almost meet God while lowering them during a chest press. You could get into a one-sided running contest with a guy before realising he's probably had years of practice and you're mortifyingly close to the edge of the treadmill. Or, in a moment of misplaced self-confidence, you could sign up for a workout class with Samantha Ruth Prabhu.

When I arrive for our session at Breathe Studio in Khar, I expect I will have some time to get my bearings—by which I mean eliminating any chance of death-by-equipment and coaxing the trainer into going easy on me. But Samantha is already on the mat with head coach Paridhi Doshi, waving me over to join them. I wave back, double-knot my shoelaces and drop a pin to my husband on WhatsApp with the accompanying text saying: “If you don't hear from me in two hours, look for me in the nearest hospital.”

We start with squats—five-kilogram dumbbells for me, a barbell stacked with plates I’m too afraid to even look at for Samantha. The studio has been asked to turn the music off so I can speak with the actor without having to scream, but between fighting for breath between reps and the clicking sound my knees make every time I move, there’s enough audio disturbance. It’s only when we're doing wall sits later that I recover enough to really look at Samantha: taut calves, firm stomach, enviable shoulder blades, a face that looks like it is drenched in dew rather than soaked in sweat like mine. “How has the new year started for you?” I blurt out when she catches me staring. “The horoscope writer at Vogue,” I explain, “told me that Taureans will have one of the most transformative years of their lives. Has that been the case for you?”