Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; April 2, 2018)

Having chosen a biopic for his third film, Harshvardhan Kapoor is aware that recreating Olympic gold medalist Abhinav Bindra’s journey will be a tall order. The biopic, we hear, will trace Bindra’s transition from adolescence to adulthood as he trains to be a professional shooter. Stationed in London, Kapoor has already begun prepping for the role — he is working on achieving a lean physique to portray Bindra during his teenage years.

Reveals a source, “While a portion of the film will see Harsh as 17-year-old Bindra competing at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, it will then progress to chart his growth as he bags the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Since the film traces his 18-year journey, Harsh will be required to lose weight first to look like a 17-year-old and then put on a few kilos to ape Bindra’s look in his late 20s and early 30s.”

The insider adds that prosthetics and VFX will be employed to make his physical transformation seamless. Kapoor is currently shedding the kilos to attain a physique with zero per cent body fat. “We have designed a 90-minute workout that is a combination of free weights, sprints on a treadmill and functional training. This is in addition to cardio, weight training and Vrikshasana [a form of yoga that Bindra recommends],” says one of the actor’s trainers.

He adds that the youngster is also honing his mental skills. “We are working towards helping him get a higher attention span. The average attention span of an adult is 15 minutes. Harsh needs to have a 600minute attention span. This will help him in perfecting the nuances.”