Bollywoods Heavyweights!

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April 28, 2010 (Sampurn Wire): Our BTown celebs put a lot of effort into a role. So dedicated are they to their craft that they’re willing to transform themselves to portray a character. While Aishwarya Rai learnt sword-fighting for Jodha Akbar, Lara Dutta learnt swimming for Blue. While Kareena shrunk for Tashan, Aamir beefed up for Ghajini. Similar is the tale of iconic actor Shabana Azmi and Bollywood hunk Hrithik Roshan. Both had put on weight for their roles in It’s a Wonderful Afterlife and Guzarish respectively. By weight, it not some pounds but several of them.

Shabana essayed the role of a hysterical Punjabi mother whose sole purpose in life is to get her daughter married. She had to be overweight to look convincing as the scheming, conniving Punjabi woman. So she gorged on samosas, jalebis and bhels and put on 25 kgs! Earlier she had put on some weight for Shyam Benegal’s Mandi in 1983 but that was 25 yers earlier when she was a lot younger. The sudden weight gain could have posed a risk to her health but the National Award winner remained unfazed. To add to her woes, she fractured her foot and was confined to a wheelchair for some months. That made it all the more difficult to shed the excess kilos.

Similarly, Hrithik who plays a paraplegic in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Gujaarish, had to pile on the pounds. He is one of the fittest actors around but had to shed his muscled frame for the role. His narrow 32 inch waist shot to almost 36 as he stuffed himself with goodies. He’s gone from fab to flab! Ironically, papa Rakesh Roshan has reduced weight even as his son’s filling out. Duggu was admonished by his doctor as his triglyceride levels had shot up! We guess all these efforts will be worth it once their films release.

– Sampurn Wire