Every Bollywood fan have witnessed Indian actors building toned bodies, six-pack abs, gaining weight or losing body mass for their movies. It is definitely a challenge for these actors to underwent a drastic body transformation as they act in multiple movies throughout the year.
Let’s look at some actors who have gone through unbelievable transformation for their roles.
Ranveer Singh
Ranveer Singh transformation is really very inspiring. It is very hard to believe that Ranveer who played the role of Bittu sharma in ‘Band Baja Baarat’ is same person who portryaed Khilji in ‘Padmaavat’.
After Padmaavat, the actor shed a lot of weight for Gully Boy. A change of appearance was again needed for his movie 83′ where he steps into the shoes of famous cricketer and former captain Kapil Dev. The majestic transformation from a muscle man Simmba to a fit sports personality require a lot of dedication and hard work. In an interview Ranveer stated that,
“The challenging part was the fact that I was approaching Kapil Dev (83, the film) on the back of Simmba. I was 86 kg as Sangram ‘Simmba’ Bhalerao, packing heavy muscle mass and had to lose about 12 to 14 kg. To shed the muscle you have so painstakingly built is a slow and difficult process, but Rajiv sir (Rajiv Mehra at Jivfit) and the boys at PodSupply (celebrity tiffin service provider) have worked closely to help me. I’m happy with the results. I’ve achieved my target, surpassed it, as a matter of fact,” .
Rajkummar Rao
National award winner, Rajkummar Rao was main lead in Vikram Motwane’s Trapped. He went through a major body transformation for this film. He played the character Shaurya, who was stuck in a high-rise building, for which he was supposed to look starved.
“I want to push the envelope and nothing else. If my character demands me to lose or gain weight, I just do it. That’s what I expect from myself and what people expect from me, and I’ve been doing that,” Rao told Hindustan Times.
You won’t believe that ‘STREE’ fame survived on two carrots and black coffee for 22 days.
Later he was seen in web-series Bose: Dead/Alive for which he shaved off half his head and gained 11 kilos within a month. Again, the actor worked hard and through intense training for his movie Badhaai Do in which he plays a role of a police officer.
Abhishek Bachchan
Abhishek Bachchan’s performance in Mani Ratnam’s Guru is still remembered by many. Very few people know that the actor had to gain weight for the same. However, when Ratnam signed him for Raavan the actor was necessitated to drop 18 kilos. Junior Bachchan said,
“The weight I had gained for Guru and Sarkar Raj stayed on me in Drona and Dostana. But then, Mani sir wanted me to look lean for Ravana. So, here I am, looking as he wanted,”
Talking about his training he told,
“It’s a cardio-intensive programme, with a lot of triomatic activities and some weights, too.“
For portraying the character of Harshad Mehta in his movie The Big Bull he had to gain weight in order to resemble real life Harshad.
Shahid Kapoor
Who would have thought that super cute and sweet ‘Aditya’ from ‘Jab we met’ will play bold and fierce character of Kabir from ‘Kabir Singh.’ As the time passed by Shahid changed his perception of how he was seen as an actor by acting in movies like Haider and Udta Punjab. With Kabir Singh, Shahid created a bar for acting skills. The movie was loved by millions. Apart from amazing acting skills one certainly can’t miss how he transformed from a college boy to an alcoholic doctor. The actor had to gain eight kilos and then lose 14 kilos for the movie. Shahid told,
“It’s always character before your personal life. The team decided to first shoot the portions that saw me out of shape. The character goes through an emotional phase; he is self-destructive and doesn’t care about how he looks. Actors are used to [looking] their best, at all times. But, here, I had to look as disinterested as I could about the way I appeared. Hence, we took the decision to grow the hair and beard. They took about two-and-a-half months to grow out, and during this phase I worked with my trainer Samir Jaura on drafting a plan and achieving the [hefty] look. If you sit down and make a plan, there’s a smart way of (gaining weight),”
Prabhas
Prabhas became a familiar name in India after playing Amrendra Baahubali. One of the most successful movies of all time Baahubali presented the South Indian super-star differently. Director and filmmaker SS Rajamouli wanted Prabhas in a beefy look, his role in Saaho required him to be lean and muscular. The actor had to lose 10 kilos to switch characters. In order to achieve the desired look, he went through hour-long cardio sessions that which also include swimming, cycling or playing volleyball
For his latest film Adipurush, Prabhas is seen hitting the gym and sweating it out to achieve a ripped body as he will be seen bare chest in the film.
Farhan Akhtar
Farhan Akhtar played legendary sprinter, Milkha Singh in 2013 in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. He underwent an intense 13-month long program to achieve the desired look. The actor was supposed to exercise every day for five to six hours which included jogging, cycling, stretching, altitude training and a combination of functional training. Akhtar also did 2,500 to 3,000 crunches daily, 300 squats, and 100 calf raises, pull-ups, push-ups, preacher curls, cable workouts, and high knees – 10 to 15 sets of repetition. For obtaining a chiseled physique a lot of effort and hard work is required and even now Farhan went through amazing transformation for his upcoming movie Toofan he trained in professional boxing for his role in the film. First, he had to lose weight to build a lean body and then had to gain 15 kilos in 6 weeks for another part. Farhan stated,
“For me, fitness is a way of life and not just a routine. Irrespective of my craft, I choose to live a healthy and disciplined lifestyle. I’ve always refrained from indulging in things that could have adverse effects on my body. It was a challenge for me to adapt to a way of living that was completely contrary—with a monitored exercise regime, less physical activity and high consumption of fats, carbs, starch. It was tough. Although I balanced consumption of fried food, the starch and fats made up for it and here you go, that’s how I gained an extra 15 kilos,”