‘I couldn’t land lead roles due to my body size’

“I ADMIT that I lost track of myself for a little while,” expressed actor Shah Jaszle recounting the phase where he experienced a sudden weight gain.

The 29-year-old artiste gained a bit of weight after he and his wife, Hanis Husna, 21, welcomed their firstborn, Alana Jasneen, into the world in 2015.

When he appeared in Astro Prima’s long-running drama series Lara Aishah, which aired beginning August last year, his appearance took his fans by surprise.

“Prior to becoming a dad, I was active in sports. But as soon as my daughter was born, I stopped so that I could be home with my family. At the same time, I failed to watch my diet,” said the 2012’s Azura actor whose real name is Mohd Shahrizal Jaszle Jasmin.

“It also didn’t help that my wife (a model) has a huge appetite and loves to eat, despite having a slim figure.

“But it was fine for her as she has a high metabolic rate given that she is young.

“And when I come home late at night from work, I would eat and immediately go to bed. That must have contributed a lot to my ‘round’ figure.”

Shah Jaszle piled on 14kg from his original weight of 75kg.

Initially, the weight gain did not bother him but that changed after a string of meetings with producers to discuss job opportunities.

“They told me the harsh truth — that I needed to lose weight to get lead roles. Due to my body size at the time, the best role I could land were supporting roles.

“I confided in my wife the need for her to help me when I start my attempt at shedding the extra weight.

“Thankfully, I managed to lose about 8kg in less than a year. I’m back doing my activities and I also watch what I eat, and that includes the meals I eat on set too,” said a slimmer looking Shah Jaszle when met at the launch of Hypp TV’s Ramadan-Raya campaign at KL Tower in Kuala Lumpur recently.

Shah Jaszle plays Raziq in HyppTV’s original series Mr Stalker Saya Cintakan Awaklah, which airs today at 6pm. The romantic comedy revolves around a love triangle between Raziq, his ex-girlfriend and a new flame.

The drama series, which is part of HyppTV’s Ramadan-Raya campaign themed #tambahlagi, also stars Mona Allen, Putra Amaris, and Natasya Mahyan.

The series is among HyppTV’s Ramadan content.

For more info on the #tambahlagi campaign, visit www.tm.com.my/hypptv