From Aamir Khan, Ranveer Singh to Kangana Ranaut: Actors who underwent dramatic physical transformation for a role

There's no denying that Aamir Khan is a method actor and he likes to play his role onscreen to perfection. When Aamir signed up for Nitesh Tiwary's Dangal, he had a task in hand -- of playing a retired 52-year-old wrestler, who's a father of four. 

While 80% of the film had Aamir playing the 52-year-old wrestler, the actor wanted to shoot those portions first so that he would have the motivation to lose the fat when he had to shoot the portions where a younger and leaner version of him is shown for the film. So he went from 72 kgs and 9.67% body fat to 97 kilos with 38% body fat. While he managed to pull off the 58-year-old look but putting on the weight, it wasn't an easy take to shed the extra kilos. A special video of how Aamir gained weight for the film and then eventually lost it all and went back to his original body type was released by the Dangal team and. While the video is very motivational, it also showcases the hard work Aamir put in for a role. 

Unlike many newcomers who opt for glamourous roles, Bhumi Pednekar made her Bollywood debut as an overweight, married woman in Dum Laga Ke Haisha.  The actor gained 23 kilos for the role, gorging on butter chicken, dal makhani and all things fattening, to look like her character, Sandhya, for six months after she signed the contract for the film. A year later, Bhumi took everyone by surprise when she made an appearance looking slimmer, fitter and an incredible 33 kilos lighter.

"I started with an hour at the gym. Then I started playing badminton and simultaneously increased my hours at the gym. There are times where you want to lose weight, and then there are times where you just don’t care. I realised it has to be a combination of both,” Bhumi told Hindustan Times. "I had the yummiest food. I believe a good chicken breast, if made well, is the best thing ever. I just picked healthier options. I quit wheat and refined sugar. I switched to whole grains. If you want to eat rotis, eat jawar ki bhakri. The Indian meal is the most balanced meal there is. I’d have one roti for dinner, and two rotis for lunch, and a cup of brown rice. I would put jaggery or honey in my tea. I would also eat rajgira… My only nutritionist was my mom," she added.

For Vikramaditya Motwane directorial Trapped, Rajkummar Rao shed several kilos. He was reportedly having only carrot and coffee to lose weight while filming Trapped. The end results are commendable and the actor also won several accolades. Trapped released in 2016.

Rajkummar Rao made his web debut with Ekta Kapoor's Bose: Dead/Alive in which he played the role of Subhash Chandra Bose. For the show, the actor went bald and also put on weight to play Netaji. The web series is based on India's Biggest Cover-up by Anuj Dhar and streamed in 2017.

In Raabta, Rajkummar Rao looked unrecognisable as he changed his whole look. The actor played the role of Muwaqqit in a special appearance. He played a 324-year-old man and had to take five to six hours to get into that look. Raabta released in 2017.

In a recent video, Priyanka Chopra herself revealed how tough it was for her to play Mary Kom. "Playing #MaryKom was not what I expected at all. The weight of telling the story of a living, national icon put a load on me that I hadn't shouldered before. It was surreal in many ways," she wrote alongside a video on her Instagram handle. "She was a world champion sportswoman who was and is still competing and is on top of her game. It was an honour but also a huge responsibility for me as an actor. It was both physically and emotionally demanding requiring an extreme amount of training to not just get into the physical shape but to learn her particular style of boxing... she is left-handed and I'm right," she added. The actress continued, "So I had to learn to box as a southpaw which was a challenge. It's an experience I will never forget. An amazing team and an equally supportive Mary herself saw me through it all."

In one of his interviews, Salman had revealed essaying the role in 'Sultan' was one of the most challenging he has ever done. 

Salman told Bombay Times, "Sultan has been my most challenging film so far, physically. I had to lose weight and then gain weight, and the cycle continued." He concluded by saying, "When I was not shooting, I would be in the gym. It was physically demanding and thus, the most challenging as an actor."

One of the fittest stars in the Hindi film industry, Salman Khan has never shied away from flaunting his muscles or abs onscreen. But for his film 'Bharat', the actor had to undergo a dramatic physical transformation to sport a much leaner physique.

To get into the skin of the character of Alauddin Khilji, Ranveer Singh teamed up with Mustafa Ahmed, the man behind his Padmaavat physique, to get those killer abs and bulked up look. From lean and sporty to macho-esque bulky -- Ranveer's physical transformation was incredible. 

In an interview with Vogue, Mustafa had said, "We focused a lot on movement patterns, mobility drills that involved strength training and conditioning workouts like high-intensity interval training (HIIT) with push-ups, burpees, power moves like deadlifts, squats.' He also revealed that the actor worked out twice a day for six days a week, while training for Padmaavat.

 

 

 

 

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From his lean, lover-boy look to gaining 13 kgs and bulking up to to get under the skin of his character for 'Sanju', Ranbir Kapoor gave it all. Apparently, he also went through hours of footage to perfect his act as Dutt.

We all are witness to actor Farhan Akhtar's transformation for 2013 Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. His performance as athlete Milkha Singh is regarded as his career-best. However, Farhan underwent rigorous training for a period of 13 months to convincingly portray Milkha Singh onscreen. Famous trainer Samir Jaura helped him make the transformation. Farhan did 2500-3000 crunches, leg raises, side bends, push-ups daily to get those eight pack abs. Squats, lunges and jump squats, calf raises and many more exercises helped him develop carved legs like an athlete. He was also put on a liquid diet for a while.

Over the past year or so, Taapsee underwent a rigorous fitness regime to become an athlete in her upcoming film, Rashmi Rocket. She gained weight and built the muscular built of an athlete over months. In one of her social media posts, Taapsee had written: "The journey from 50 lbs (22.6 kilos) to 540 lbs (244.9 kilos)", to explain her drastic makeover. Directed by Akarsh Khurana, the sports-drama showcases the story of a girl named Rashmi and her journey from a tiny village to athletic glory. The film will release sometime in 2021.

The actor will be seen in the action spy thriller Dhaakad, and recently released a post of the film to reveal her first look in the project. By the first look, it is obvious that she has upped her fitness quotient to acquire a super-fit look for her role. Kangana will don an uber action avatar in the violent spy thriller, set against the backdrop of international espionage. Besides Dhaakad, Kangana also has Thalaivi slated for release. She reportedly gained 20 kilos to play a phase in the life of late Tamil Nadu politician-actress J Jayalalithaa.

The actress has undergone a drastic transformation for her upcoming film, Mimi. Kriti had announced a while back that she is gaining 15 kilos for her role. The film is about a girl who becomes a surrogate mother for a middle-aged couple. The actress revealed that she had to forcibly increase her diet intake in order to gain weight.