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NEW ROLES, NEW BODIES:as TOUGH BUT EFFECTIVE
Bollywood actors and fitness trainers talk about the repeated bulkingup and slimmingdown routines
Being an actor is no easy job. To get into the skin of characters, actors often undergo extreme physical transformation. In the past, several male actors such as Aamir Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Shah Rukh Khan, Farhan Akhtar, and Rajkummar Rao, among others, either beefed up or shed a lot of kilos. This year, too, the trend continues.
Hrithik Roshan’s look from Super 30, the biopic on ace mathematician Anand Kumar, makes the actor nearly unrecognisable — the normally muscular Hrithik looks much thinner. Then, Ranveer Singh, who bulked up to play Alauddin Khilji in Padmaavat, lost a lot of weight to look the part of a street rapper in Gully Boy, and is now again beefing up for Simbaa. For the Sanjay Dutt biopic, playing him in many stages of his life, lead actor Ranbir Kapoor went through multiple body transformations; and for the superhero film Brahmastra, he is pumping iron again. Ali Fazal, who underwent rigorous training to build up his body to play a gangster in a web series, had to lose all of that for Milan Talkies. Diljit Dosanjh, who is playing hockey star Sandeep Singh in the biopic Soorma, had a specific exercise regime to get the right physique.
TOLL ON THE BODY
These body transformations make the characters credible, but do take a toll on the actors. Ali, who lost 10kg to play a college student in his next film, says, “Excessive proteins and heavy workouts (for earlier roles) would often leave me restless. Sometimes, old injuries come in the way, too. You have to find ways to bypass those or find quick cures to achieve the final result.”
Actor Kunal Kapoor, who has been through such transformations in the past, calls it very challenging yet very rewarding. “As an actor, you wait for opportunities where you can transform yourself emotionally, mentally and physically,” he says, adding, “It can take a toll on your health, if it’s not done the right way. I had to gain 12kg of muscle for Veeram, and then lose it for my next film. I had people that helped me achieve this in a very systematic way, from training to nutrition.”
TRAINER TALK
Fitness trainers make sure that they’re in sync with the role requirements and accordingly suggest workouts for the actors. Celebrity fitness trainer Prashant Sawant says that actors have to be prepared mentally first. “Actors have to literally draw in their mind the kind of physique they want, and then work towards it. Their lifestyle is not so easy with different shoot conditions and timings. However, actors today are focused and regularly work out,” he says. This kind of physical transformation is “a statement for the industry”, adds Sawant. He ensures that the actors in his charge “are in good shape at least 12 months prior to [the film]”.
On the occupational hazards of being an actor, fitness trainer Rahul Bhatt says, “It’s extreme but that’s where body confidants come in. It’s all calculated risks, no Russian roulette. Motivation levels vary with the stars. My job is to develop a reliable blueprint. I tell them what they need to hear, not what they want to.”