Priyanshu Painyuli: Surfing in Sri Lanka was like living my ZNMD moment

Jun 18, 2025 08:38 AM IST

Actor Priyanshu Painyuli discovered a new passion: surfing and shares how his recent trip to Sri Lanka became more than just a vacation

Actor Priyanshu Painyuli recently took a break from the demands of film sets and intense character transformations to reconnect with nature—and in doing so, discovered a new passion: surfing. A trip to Sri Lanka became more than just a vacation. “I love water. Any water sport has always excited me. As a kid, it started with swimming. Later, it became rafting and deep-sea diving. Water, I believe, has a humbling quality to it,” says Priyanshu.

Priyanshu Painyuli

While the actor learned surfing in Sri Lanka, this isn’t the first time he’s tried his hand at the water sport. “I first tried surfing in Goa, just for a day. But even in that one day, I felt a spark—something I really wanted to pursue,” recalls Priyanshu. That one-day experience soon turned into a decision: he and his wife would travel to Sri Lanka, one of the world’s premier surfing destinations, to truly learn the sport.

“I’ve only done a very basic course, but the experience was profound. Surfing isn’t easy; it really challenges you. But more than that, it changes you. There’s something powerful about just being in the water, with the waves. You shut down everything around you. Your senses heighten. You find yourself in a different kind of stillness, even amid chaos,” expresses the 36-year-old actor.

Having also experienced deep-sea diving in the past, Priyanshu compared the two. “When you dive, you’re in another world for 45 minutes, breathing through oxygen that isn’t your own. You feel small. You realize your problems are even smaller. Surfing gave me a similar sense—like, wow, there’s so much more out there, and within me.” He further adds, “The whole experience reminded me of that Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (ZNMD) scene where Hrithik Roshan dives and finds a kind of stillness. I felt that. It was powerful.”

Though adventurous by nature, he admitted he hasn’t yet conquered every fear. “I love heights, and I really want to try skydiving,” he says, wrapping up.