Bollywood actors dare to alter their bodies for their characters

safia@coastaldigest.com (TNN)
April 8, 2013

Ranveer_Singh_workoutApr 8: Bollywood actors are yet to undergo 'extreme body modification', practised by the likes of Christian Bale and Tom Hardy, but they are definitely getting there. Superstars Aamir Khan (Ghajini, 3 Idiots) and Hrithik Roshan (Krrish 3, Guzaarish) have modified their physique to get into the skin of their characters. And joining the duo are a 'passionate' few like Ranveer Singh, Shahid Kapoor, Vidya Balan and Farhan Akhtar. Actors, who have dared to alter their bodies, to look the characters they portray.

Ranveer Singh: I love to go to extremes for a role

He reasons, "Looking the character is half the battle won as it lends authenticity to the film. I like to look different in every film I do. I love to go to extremes for a role! Hrithik is a huge inspiration. I was expected to have a chor body (lean from the outside but ripped when shirtless) for my first film, sexy body (beach body) for my second, no-workout look for Lootera as it is set in 1950s (had to have a little weight on the face) and a chiselled body for Ram Leela as I had to look desirable as Romeo. I work out according to the requirement of the role. I am currently undergoing Drastic Transformation Programme (DTP), a concept of Hrithik's trainer. It guarantees startling results within a stipulated time period."

Shahid Kapoor: 'Look' per se is not important, but looking your character is

Heartthrob Shahid Kapoor, known for his boyish good looks, will be seen all buffed up for his forthcoming action films Rambo Rajkumar and Phata Poster Nikla Hero. About his transformation, he says, "For an actor, his body is nothing but a medium through which he expresses and enacts different characters. 'Look' per se is not important, but looking your character is. I am currently shooting for films that require me to do action sequences along with some good amount of dancing. I have been instructed by directors to have a tough, but agile body that will compliment the characters I am playing. My trainer has come up with a regimen that is a mix of functional training, weights and stretching exercises. I wasn't expected to lose much weight, but I had to gain sharpness and definition."

Vidya Balan: "Once she decides to play a character, she starts living the character."

Vidya Balan was on the verge of losing weight after gaining 12 kgs for The Dirty Picture, until she was asked to retain it by director Raj Kumar Gupta for Ghanchakkar. He says, "Vidya is one of the finest actresses we have today. Once she decides to play a character, she starts living the character and gets into the minutest details of it. When we decided to collaborate on Ghanchakkar, I told her that she had to retain the weight she had gained for The Dirty Picture. She was on her way to lose weight and I had a slight apprehension that she would have reservations about doing so, but she instantly agreed. I felt Vidya is the only actress who could pull off the character of a hatti katti Punjabi housewife, who has a little bizarre sense of fashion. She has effortlessly gone into the skin of the character. She even learnt Punjabi for the film."

Farhan Akhtar: Wear your shoes and go running!

A man who dons many hats, Farhan Akhtar went through a rigorous training to exact the body of an Olympic athlete for Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, it being a biopic on 'Flying Sikh', Milkha Singh. Reportedly, it took Farhan almost two years to achieve the body of a professional runner. He followed the fitness regime that athletes follow to look like a sportsman.

Perfection comes with a price: The Side-Effects

Weight fluctuation has its side-effects. Says Ranveer, "I love gymming, but hate dieting. I am very fond of chocolates. It's very taxing to refrain from your favourite food. After Ram Leela, I let go of the diet to give myself a break. I had burgers and chocolate. Weight fluctuation can take a toll on you mentally. It made me crabby! But now, I have learnt to control it.

Says Shahid, "Sometimes, it is tough and sometimes not so tough. But as actors, we have to change ourselves according to the script and director's vision. It often requires you to change your lifestyle, but for me, finding motivation to train or regulate diet has not been an issue. When one is training with the particular aim of playing a character, there is always a thrill attached to it."

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News Network
May 20,2020

Mumbai, May 20: Doing his bit to help people in need during the ongoing coronavirus crisis, and the lockdown 4.0 phase, Bollywood actor Salman Khan has initiated ''Being Haangryy''- food truck facility to distribute, provide ration to needy.

To feed the affected people in Mumbai, the food truck with the words ''Being Haangryy'' written on it, was seen in Mumbai roads on Wednesday, where volunteers are providing huge bags of ration. A long queue of people was standing near the truck to get the essentials.

Many videos of the truck moving around the city providing ration kits to the people in need, surfaced on the internet from earlier this month.

However, the Bajrangi Bhaijaan actor has not announced this initiative himself on his personal social media accounts.

The Sultan actor is staying at his Panvel farmhouse with his nephew Nirvaan Khan and other family members ever since the lockdown was announced.

Earlier, the 54-year-old actor urged people to take up the ''Anna Daan'' challenge and donate to the underprivileged ones who are worst affected by the COVID-19 lockdown.

After urging people to take up the ''Anna Daan'' challenge, the actor posted a video on Twitter, that features him and Iulia Vantur, Jacqueline Fernandez among others loading the bags filled with ration on to a truck.

Khan actively posts videos on his social media handles to raise awareness about the importance of social distancing during COVID-19.

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

@jacquelinef143 @vanturiulia @rahulnarainkanal @imkamaalkhan @niketan_m @waluschaa @abhiraj88

A post shared by Salman Khan (@beingsalmankhan) on

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News Network
June 16,2020

Mumbai, Jun 16: The International Space University (ISU) in France has paid homage to Sushant Singh Rajput in a statement, saying the news of the actor's death was "deeply saddening".

Rajput was found dead in his Bandra apartment on Sunday.

According to an official, Mumbai Police found out during the probe that the 34-year-old actor was under medication for depression.

The official Twitter handle of ISU on Monday tweeted how Rajput was supposed to visit the campus last year but was unable to due to scheduling conflict.

"We are deeply saddened by the dramatic news on the death of well known Indian actor Sushant Singh Rajput. Mr Singh Rajput was a believer and strong supporter of STEM education and was following ISU on social media.

"He had even accepted an invitation to visit ISU's Central Campus in the summer of 2019 but other agenda priorities prevented him from travelling to Strasbourg," the statement by the university read.

ISU paid condolences to Rajput's family and friends, saying the actor's memory will "remain among his thousands of followers across India and all over the world".

Rajput had enrolled at Delhi Technical University (DTU) in 2003, which was then known as Delhi College of Engineering, but left the course to pursue his showbiz dreams.

Even after leaving the four-year degree course, he remained fascinated with science and had a deep interest in astronomy.

As part of his research for the film "Chanda Mama Door Ke", he also visited the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 2017.

Rajput had stayed in NASA to train for his role as an astronaut for the film, which was eventually shelved.

The actor also owned Meade 14" LX600 telescope.

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News Network
February 10,2020

Feb 10: Bong Joon-ho’s film “Parasite” starts in a dingy, half-basement apartment with a family of four barely able to scratch out a life. There must be no place to go but up, right? Yes and no. There’s nothing predictable when the South Korean director is on his game.

This dark, socially conscious film about the intertwining of two families is an intricately plotted, adult thriller. We can go up, for sure, but Bong can also take us deeper down. There’s always an extra floor somewhere in this masterpiece.

It tells the story of the impoverished four-person Kim family who, one by one, and with careful and devious planning, all get employed by the four-person affluent Park family — as a tutor, an art teacher, a driver and a housekeeper. They are imposters stunned by the way wealth can make things easier: “Money is an iron. It smooths out all the creases,” says the Park patriarch with wonder.

Bong, who directed and wrote the story for “Parasite,” has picked his title carefully, of course. Naturally, he’s alluding to the sycophantic relationship by a clan of scammers to the clueless rich who have unwittingly opened the doors of their home on a hill. But it’s not that simple. The rich family seem incapable of doing anything — from dishes to sex — without help. Who’s scamming who?

Bong’s previous films play with film genres and never hide their social commentary — think of the environmentalist pig-caper “Okja” and the dystopian sci-fi global warming scream “Snowpiercer.” But this time, Bong’s canvas is a thousand times smaller and his focus light-years more intense. There are no CGI train chases on mountains or car chases through cities. (There is also, thankfully, 100% less Tilda Swinton, a frequent, over-the-top Bong collaborator.

The two Korean families first make contact when a friend of the Kim’s son asks him to take over English lessons for the Park daughter. Soon the son (a dreamy Choi Woo-sik) convinces them to hire his sister (the excellent Park So-dam) as an art teacher, but doesn’t reveal it’s his sis. She forges her diploma and spews arty nonsense she learned on the internet, impressing the polite but firm Park matriarch (a superb Jo Yeo-jeong.)

The Park’s regular chauffer is soon let go and replaced by the Kim patriarch (a steely Lee Sun-kyun). Ditto the housemaid, who is dumped in favor of the Kims’ mother (a feisty Jang Hye-jin.) All eight people seem happy with the new arrangement until Bong reveals a twist: There are more parasites than you imagined. The clean, impeccably furnished Park home will have some blood splashing about.

Bong’s trademark slapstick is still here but the rough edges of his often too-loud lessons are shaved down nicely and his actors step forward. “Keep it focused,” the Kim’s son counsels his father at one point. Bong has followed that advice.

There are typically dazzling Bong touches throughout. Just look for all the insect references — stink bugs at the beginning to flies at the end, and a preoccupation with odor across the frames. And there’s a scene in which the rich matriarch skillfully winds noodles in a bowl while, in another room, duct tape is being wrapped around a victim and classical music plays.

Bong could have been more strident in his social critique but hasn’t. There are no villains in “Parasite” — and also no heroes. Both families are forever broken after chafing against each other, a bleak message about the classes ever really co-existing (Take that, “Downton Abbey”).

“Parasite” is a worthy winner of the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, the first South Korean movie to win the prestigious top prize. The director has called it an “unstoppably fierce tragicomedy.” We just call it brilliant.

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