A devoted actor can go to any length to get into the skin of the character and look the part. It is not new to see Aamir Khan packing on the pounds to fit into the role of Mahavir Singh Phogat in Dangal, he had transformed into different characters several times before. The shift from his cute looks to the tough eight-pack-abs in Ghajini was quite appealing for his fans. Similarly Shah Rukh Khan developed the famous six-pack-abs for his movie Om Shanti Om.
Hollywood has seen some of the most drastic and shocking changes with Christian Bale being top on the list! His appearance in various movies had been different from his other movies. His outstanding performance in The Machinist not only won him accolades but also gave him a hard time to regain his health back. He had lost 63 pounds to play the titular character of the film and said that he lived on a diet of supplements to keep him alive as he starved and worked out too much to bring himself down to only 122 pounds! Charlize Theron, famous for her performance in The Italian Job had gained 30 pounds and shaved off her eyebrows for Monster and received the Academy Awards for best actress for the same,which is quite worth it!
The famous Tom Hanks had also shed 50 pounds for the iconic role in Castaway. Even the production of the film was stopped so that Hanks could diet and grow a terribly long beard to look authentic. And the best part is that Hanks was then rewarded with his fifth Oscar nomination. Tom Hanks had won his first Oscar for the role of an AIDS patient in Philadelphia where he also had to shed about 30 pounds. Black Swan’s Nina played by Natalie Portman was not only a challenging role to portray psychologically but also physically. Portman had to lose 20 pounds to look credible as a ballet dancer in the psychological thriller.
“Losing weight in a very short period of time affects a person’s body in terms of the bone density and the heart gradually. It is not always clear which part of the body or which aspect of health will be affected. Weight loss can be done in a healthy manner which requires minimum three months by cutting down carbohydrates and fat”, said Dr Kavita Khanna, a Delhi based nutritionist.
Some other examples of dedicated Hollywood actors include Mila Kunis who also like Natalie Portman lost 20 pounds for her role in ‘Black Swan’.
Our very own Bollywood industry is not lagging far behind, it is not just Aamir Khan or Shah Rukh Khan who had experimented with their physique but also actors like Vidya Balan, who had gained 12 kilograms for her film The Dirty Picture, Kareena Kapoor’s size zero figure in Tashan and very recently Randeep Hooda for his upcoming movie Sarbjit.
Bhumi Pednekar, who had been a model had gained an excessive amount of weight to star in Dum Laga ke Haisha! as an overweight housewife. Randeep Hooda had lost 18 kilograms in only 28 days under the supervision of a doctor and had grown a heavy beard for his role in Sarbjit, his secret was to survive only on water and coffee by cutting down on his meals.
“A sudden change in weight is never a good step for the body, until done under expert guidance it affects health in the long run and makes one develop weakness,” said Dr Putul Basak. Jared Leto’s drastic weight gain landed him with gout, for which he had been on wheel chair a few times! In most cases the transformations where supervised by dietitians and doctors. Fans who have been swept away by the drastic changes of these actors may note that losing or gaining weight is not an easy process but rather a very planned and meticulously carried out process which requires both supervision and dedication.