Bollywood actor Kartik Aaryan has been celebrated for his fabulous hair and crowd-pleasing monologues in glossy romantic dramas. But for his new film Chandu Champion, which releases today, he had to do something radically different: Lose 18kg for a ripped body.
The 33-year-old plays India’s first Paralympic gold-medallist Muralikant Petkar and had to dedicate 18 months of training and weight-loss towards the project.
“It’s a once in a lifetime chance to play this sort of character, and I would go to any level to actually portray this character well,” he told Gulf News.
Kartik’s ripped image in Chandu Champion was the result of a strict diet and training regime. For the actor, known for playing far less intense roles in comedies such as Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 and Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety, it meant “shifting gears”.
“For this role, I needed to have 12 or 13 per cent body fat. I started with 39 per cent body fat,” said Kartik, who went from 90kg to 72kg.
“I didn’t have a social life. I was just at home or in my gym or in my swimming pool. I had very little carbs or next to no carbs. My diet was more fibre and salads. My routine dal, roti and sabzi (stir-fried vegetables) were all eliminated from my life.”
