VIDEO: Watching Aamir Khan Going from 97 Kgs to a Six-pack for Dangal is not for the Faint-hearted

The old star system may not as yet be dead in Bollywood but, as Bob Dylan sings, “The times, they are a-changin'” indeed! Well known actors, who may once never have considered doing character roles that require them to look and act different from their usual star personas, are embracing alternative cinema and even sometimes the makeup-less look and weight gain for roles that come with the territory.

It is certainly a welcome change to see the superstars also making the effort to rock roles that allow them to look their own age. The most recent examples of the trend can be spotted easily among the mighty Khan trio’s most recent films: Salman Khan’s Sultan, Shah Rukh Khan’s Dear Zindagi and Aamir Khan’s upcoming Dangal.

A recently released behind the scenes video of Aamir Khan in Dangal shows how the actor first gained weight to look the part of his older self in the film, and then lost it to look like a young wrestler. His transformation from a 97-kg man sporting a paunch to a fit wrestler showing off his six pack abs is remarkable.

Though Aamir is known for his perfectionism while portraying any role, his transformation for Dangal is still significant. Losing weight and building muscles for a role is a usual occurrence in Bollywood. What is rare is the opposite. The fact that Aamir gained weight to look like a worn-out wrestler in his 50s says much about what to expect from Bollywood films in the future and it looks promising.

The video, which went viral within a few hours of its release, tracks the journey of Aamir’s transformation. In the video, Aamir, his team of fitness trainers, as well as the director Nitesh Tiwari, talk about his training regime.

“It was fun gaining weight, I could eat anything! But it was also most uncomfortable. My wrestling training was affected because I was carrying so much weight, I couldn’t really move faster. When you gain weight, your breathing changes. You body language changes. The way you try to stand up, everything changes,” he observes in the video.

But then started the journey to become fit again. Aamir says there were days when he’d think it was impossible and would not happen, but he’d try to brush these thoughts away and continue working one step at a time. What seemed impossible was achieved only through a combination of will power and effort.

Featured image source: Facebook

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