Journalism of Courage
Aamir Khan's fat to fit video for Dangal has left his fans shocked. The actor went from weighing 96 kgs with a pronounced paunch to a fit 68 kg with six-pack abs in five months while playing Mahavir Singh Phogat in Dangal. Aamir Khan speaks about his weight gain and the drastic loss, how he doesn't want anyone else to do it and why son Azad Rao Khan simply loved when he was overweight. Aamir said Dangal was the toughest challenge for him, "Though I went through body building to get a certain look for my film, this (Dangal) one was one of the most dramatic body transformations so far. The film has two phases. For one part, I had to put on weight. So, I weighed 96 kgs with 38 percent body fat and that I had to reduce to 9 percent body fat within five months. That was a huge task."
Aamir Khan found the weight loss regime very hard to follow. In fact, the Dangal star said it was highly unhealthy and said nobody should try it at home. “I would like to mention that putting on weight and losing it so fast is very unhealthy. I did it for my film under the supervision of experts, but it is very unhealthy for any regular person,” the actor said. He also revealed that he found the fat to fit body transformation very challenging. In fact, there were moments he was unsure if he can even manage it.
But why not take the easy weight out and wear a bodysuit in Dangal. To this, Aamir replied, “When you put on weight, it affects your breathing and body language. That naturally reflects on your performance. You cannot get that from a bodysuit.”
There was one person who loved Aamir's grizzled, paunchy self and it was son Azad Rao Khan. The actor revealed, “Azad liked me with my weight as he found me to be more cuddly that way so when he hugged me there was more of me to hug!”
Will Aamir take such a challenge again? “Yes I will though my doctor has advised me against doing so as it’s risky. But it all depends on the film and role. If I like it, I will do it. When I was putting on weight, Kiran and my mother were scared but I was never scared. I gorged on everything from samosas to chocolates,” he said.
Dangal will release on December 23. A biopic based on the life of wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat, it shows how he fought against patriarchy to make his daughters world-class wrestlers.
