“There came a point when I could barely walk “, Randeep Hooda Decrypts His Torturous Physical Makeover For ‘Sarabjit’

We’re all aware of the demanding physical change that actor Randeep Hooda went through for his upcoming biopic Sarabjit, but in a recent interview the actor goes into grueling details that’ll leave you aghast!

Ahead of Schedule

To start off, Hooda was caught totally off-guard when director Omung Kumar decided to shoot the portions of Sarbajit in jail earlier than planned. Not only did this mean that the Highway actor would have to give up all binging plans for Dussehra, Diwali and New Year’s Eve, but more importantly manage to get rid of 18kilos in 28 days!

“I was a muscular 94 kg at the time and while it’s easy to burn fat, it’s hard to lose muscle. I was expecting to shoot the portions when Sarabjit was a pahalwan in his village and then slowly shed weight. The decision came as a shock and led to a period of physical and mental torture,” Randeep recollects.

Zero Diet

Although, the actor was under the expert supervision of his own sister, Dr Anjali Hooda-Sangwan, an Obesity, Metabolic Medicine and Clinical Nutrition Specialist, the diet was not any less punishing.

She kept Hooda on a diet comprising of minimal calories of proteins and greens supplemented with a few cheat days when he could have some starch depending on his activity levels. The diet only allowed him to consume between 500-600 calories every day, but varied depending on weight, hydration levels, vitamin deficiency and his body’s reaction to the food intake.

Randeep admits that what he pulled off in 28 days should normally be done over a span of 3-4 months and had he not been on his sister’s watch, the feat would’ve been impossible.

“Like I do with everything else, I overdid this too, going on a zero calorie diet without realising the body needs sugar to function. The lack of it almost drove me crazy.

Food For Thought

“I was thinking about food all the time, there were days when I was so hungry, I couldn’t sleep. There came a point when I wasn’t even allowed an apple and was so emaciated I could barely walk,” he shudders.

Of course the star had his share of cravings. “I wanted parathas with white makkhan. And hot chocolate fudge from Nirula’s. I would sketch these items, it feels so nice to be able to eat them again,” he chuckles.

For Real!

A lot of tabloids and media mullahs have openly disregarded the actor’s efforts as “touched up”. But Hooda insists that the torment he went through was for real. And as for not being seen publically in this emaciated avatar, he explains that his social life was as lifeless as him.

“I couldn’t even ride my horses, I was so weak I was afraid I’d fall and break my neck,” he says, glad to get back to 84 kg. He admits it was unwise to attempt two makeovers in a year.

His earlier makeover was for Deepak Tijori’s Do Lafzon Kahani where he dropped down from 94kg to 77kg.

Source: Mumbai Mirror