It was an unplanned and perhaps a much needed break for actor Aftab Shivdasani who went to Russia for a film shoot, but managed to indulge in a six days long holiday in Moscow.
It was the first time that Shivdasani visited the city and couldn’t help falling in love with it.
Still reeling under the hangover, the actor says, “I feel like I have an unfinished business in Moscow. The city beckons me…” Hence, it’s not a surprise at all that Shivdasani is already looking forward to paying a second visit to Moscow.
“I felt so much at peace in the city. A foreign land where nobody can recognize you… such a luxury. It was a change that I most needed,” recalls Shivdasani who seems like quite a recluse. And since he happened to be all alone in Moscow, he couldn’t have asked for more.
“I just wish there were more English speaking people there… it would have made it easy for me,” he adds. “It became a little difficult as most locals could not speak English. But I was glad and surprised too, to find that Russians are so fascinated by India. When I told them I am from India, they were so excited and immediately recalled Raj Kapoor — they all know him in Moscow.”
An avid shopper, Shivdasani couldn’t resist indulging in some retail therapy here. “It was such a great shopping destination. And such reasonable pricing…” So what was it that he shopped for? “I love buying clothes…I picked up a lot of them,” he laughs as he realises that he only shopped for himself... “I got no souvenir.”
And even though he was happily holidaying in Moscow, Shivdasani did not miss out on his regular gym regime. “I would get up in the morning at around 11 and do my daily dose of exercise before I would jaunt off on the streets,” says Shivdasani who loved walking around aimlessly.
“I did not want to do all the touristy things and go to the popular places. I wanted to try out new things.” And that is exactly what he did. He also went to the Red Square as well as the Kremlin Square — both of which happen to be the world heritage sites.
In his solo adventures, Shivdasani claims that he came across many fancy restaurants, however, he did not really try out any local cuisine. “I am not very experimental you see,” he is quick to defend. “I am a huge fan of Japanese food and that is what I ended up eating in Moscow too,” he laughs.
It was a short break, yet Shivdasani managed to make the most of it — from catching up on his sleep to being in his own company — something that he defines as the “high point” of his trip which made the holiday all the more special.
