Hiren Kotwani (MID-DAY; January 20, 2014)

Himesh Reshammiya will play an ex-copturned-superstar in his next, The Xpose, which is a thriller set in 1960s’ Bollywood. The composersinger-actor has shed 20 kilos to fit into the role of Ravi Kumar, which is inspired by the late actor Raaj Kumar.

 Himesh, who weighed 77 kilos when he started preparing for the film five months ago, adopted an organic diet to go with his training regimen. And now, he weighs 57 kilos. Along with shunning carbohydrates, he also stopped eating between 9 pm and 9 am. Himesh is pleased with the results and is working towards getting six-pack abs in a month. Says he, “I have some superb music coming this year with Humshakals, Action Jackson, All Is Well and Kick. And there’s The Xpose, whose director Ananth Mahadevan is doing a wonderful job.”

The negative character played by Yo Yo Honey Singh apparently is inspired by Pran. Irrfan Khan also makes a special appearance in the film, which introduces Zoya Afroz (Miss India 2013 second runner-up) and Sonali Raut, who are playing characters inspired by Parveen Babi and Zeenat Aman, respectively.

The Xpose, produced by HR Musik, releases May 16.