Vickey Lalwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 30, 2014)

Last Friday, heads turned at the Filmfare Awards when Hansal Mehta’s Shahid stepped on the red carpet. Rajkummar Rao looked almost gaunt. When Mirror quizzed the actor, he frankly admitted that he was losing weight for his upcoming film Citylights, where he plays the role of a person who has had a tough life and is undergoing tremendous stress. “I have already lost 7.5 kg, by the end of the film, I should be another two kgs lighter,” he informed”, adding that he is on a “strict diet. “No carbs, no oil and no non-veg, only soups and salads.” 

The task has become doubly difficult because Rajkummar has instructions not to gain any weight till the film is totally complete. “Else the continuity is lost,” he points out. 

The actor who bagged the Filmfare Award for Best Actor (Critics Award) for Shahid admitted that it is very difficult to control the urge to eat when he is ravenously hungry. “But I am doing it,” he maintained stoically. 

Hansal Mehta who is directing Citylights too told Mirror that his approach with his actors is very simple. “I focus on the character. Rajkummar plays a villager in Citylights and had to look apt for the aam aadmi role. We don’t hire nutritionist for actors to lose weight; it’s an expensive exercise. Rajkummar is taking the traditional route and running a lot daily and keeping tabs on what he eats,” he explains. 

So is he satisfied with Rajkummar’s present look? Hansal retorts, “Of course, we are. Mahesh Bhatt and I watched few rushes of Citylights yesterday and we were in tears. This guy is convincing in whatever he does.”