Bio
Prashant Raj Sachdev is a model from Mumbai, India best known as a contestant on the first season of the reality television competition The Amazing Race Asia, from 2006-2007.
His partner was fellow model and friend Sahil Shroff.
Amazing Race Asia Bio
Welcome to the boy's club. Prashant and Sahil are models, and tempting as it is to dismiss them as simply Bollywood hunks, these boys are also taking the Race very seriously.
These two guys have been buddies for some time, and are looking to take their buddy routine on the road for The Amazing Race Asia.
Prashant and Sahil are two guys from Mumbai, India. While they are both models, they do not just lead boring lives punctuated only with shoot after shoot.
Instead, they also have other jobs - Prashant organises events, and Sahil works for his family's business - and along the way they manage to find time to go to the gym and lead reasonably active social lives as well.
You might think that a relationship between two men would be very complicated, but the explanation of who they are comes quickly and simply to Prashant's lips.
"We're very close friends," he says. "We have a lot in common. We're very compatible."
They met five years ago, after Prashant met Sahil's sister on a forum. That conversation led to a meeting, and when she finally got to know Prashant, she kept telling him how much like her brother he was. It seemed to make sense for the two to meet. They hit it off straight away, and five years on, they have remained firm friends.
The two discovered that they were surprisingly similar, and despite their similarities, they have formed an unusually strong bond. Still, their personalities are quite different.
Sahil is more outgoing, a trait that Prashant says he admires. Sahil is the more spontaneous of the two. "I'd rather do 50 things in a day," he says, "than do 20."
That's why he's always pushing himself to get the most done, to do more.
Prashant is the opposite. He's more laid back, and more patient, and he would rather see things through before making a decision. Sahil describes him as being "more accommodating", but is quick to point out that it's a good thing.
"We wouldn't be here otherwise," he says.
The two balance each other out, an act of personality chemistry that they hope will translate into the race. Prashant explains it best.
"The thing that I lack, he excels in," he says.
Compatibility is their biggest strength, that, and their mutual understanding.
When asked to describe themselves, they come up with a slew of words which encapsulate not only their team, but also their approach to the Race: flamboyant, energetic, fun, adaptable, enjoying ourselves.
The one thing that might work against them is that they have not seen many episodes of The Amazing Race. But they think not watching how other teams have performed might possibly be something that works in their favour.
"We don't have nothing to lose, we're just gonna give everything we got," says Sahil. "We're not over-analysing the situation, we're not under-analysing the situation, we're just doing what it takes."
And while you can never be sure how a relationship will behave under stress, the boys have some experience in that area as well. Both of them claim to work better under stress, and Prashant gives away their secret.
"When stress comes along, one of us will maintain the calm that the other person doesn't have," he says. So there's always some measure of equilibrium.
Being a buddy team has its advantages, surely. Up against a field of romantic relationships, Sahil points out that it is easy for two people in a romantic relationship to get into a fight.
"Boyfriend and girlfriend, it's easier to fight. He's not my girlfriend, so I'm not going to fight with him so easily," says Sahil, pointing at Prashant. This, they hope, will give them a bit of an edge - any disagreements they have won't turn into personal attacks, or attacks on the relationship itself.
A team with two guys on it may have a bit of an advantage, particularly in physical challenges that require a great deal of strength. Prashant and Sahil intend to make the most of every advantage they can get.
"The fact that we get along in a very strong way, that we have a lot of respect for each other's notions, we have an advantage because we're not in a relationship, and physically we're both at par, these all give us advantages," says Prashant.
Their main strategy is to have fun, and make the most of the moment and of every situation. They hope that comes across during the duration of the race. Prashant and Sahil are planning to do a lot of learning during the first couple of legs of the race. The plan, so far, is to have fun and go with the flow, and give it their best.
More interestingly, these boys may be the only team that mentioned that they were representing their country, and that fills them with a certain sense of pride.
Between that, and the opportunity to strengthen their friendship, and learn more about themselves and each other, they are going to be much stronger coming out than going in.