Coffee, family and fun

It is rare for an artiste to get free time for himself and just do absolutely nothing, especially during the weekends. 
But if I do get my weekends off, I would like to spend it with my dear ones. These rare moments are of utmost importance to me.  

My wife Spandana and son Shourya are my world. If I am home during weekends, I relax with them. We wake up late and once we are up, we sit down for coffee and chit-chat for hours together. These conversations are really important for me.

During those weekends we make family visits and that includes visiting my parents' and my in-laws' place. Shourya loves playing with his cousins and we love spending time with our families and just being ourselves.              

My father Chinne Gowda and mother Jayamma love hosting us and we have a fun get-together. I love visiting them as I also get to spend some quality time with my brother SriiMurali.

Though my father, my brother and I are from the film industry, we rarely talk about films. We are like any normal family talking about daily affairs and random things. Sri Murari and I share a very special bond. Even if we don't get to see each other often because of our schedules, whenever we do, it is a crazy occasion. We behave like kids, teasing and pulling each other's legs. He is a very protective sibling and I let it stay that way though I am the older one.      

My weekends also include spending time with my friends who are from the film industry and outside.

Sunil, Vishal Hegde, Meghna, Raj, Kiran and Archana are some of my closest friends. We all share a very close bond. It's always nice to have friends from outside your work circle too as it helps put things into perspective.

As for the actor friends who I like chilling with, Diganth and Prajwal top the list.

I met them 10 years ago when they entered the film industry and since then,  they call me 'Anna'. They respect me a lot and we share a very special bond.

Though our conversations start with films, it always moves on to unconnected topics like weather, politics and so on. We never run out of topics to talk about.

I love relaxing at cafes and I always ask them if we could meet at a cafe but we end up chilling at house parties.

The best part about all my friends is that they all connect really well with my wife Spandana. She loves spending time with all of them. As a family, we also watch movies together. While Spandana likes watching Indian films, my son and I don't miss out any action or interesting English movies.

We also go out on long drives or travel to Mangaluru, Mysuru or Goa, when we know that we have the next two days to ourselves. Travelling is something we love doing as a family. I love driving a lot and it might sound strange, but I enjoy driving in the city even if it is from Jakkur to MG Road.

I find silence in the chaos.    

I also love being on my own at cafes. This could be after a film discussion or when I just want to escape the routine. I  just sit around, listening to music and digging into goodies accompanied by a cold coffee.

I have a sweet tooth and I thoroughly indulge in desserts.  

This is why I don't miss my workout sessions.

I was on a break for some time but now I religiously work out for 45 to 90 minutes.  

This is how I burn down my calories and the guilt that I have gained after consuming the sweets.

My kind of perfect weekend is doing nothing but being with my family. After all, finding solace in things that are dear to me is all that matters."