Prashant Singh (HINDUSTAN TIMES; January 12, 2020)

She has had a great 2019 — her films Luka Chuppi, Housefull 4 followed by Panipat, all got actor Kriti Sanon moolah, critical appreciation, and a variety to portray. By the looks of it, 2020 looks no different, for she is already trying something different in her next, Mimi, a film around surrogacy. She is going to put on kilos, lots of kilos!

And that’s something that she hasn’t attempted yet. The actor, who has always had an “extremely lean figure”, is readying to undergo a physical transformation for the film by gaining 15 kilos! “It will be interesting, because it is the male actors who are usually known for gaining weight for their films, not many female actors have undergone such a physical transformation,” says a source.

When asked about the weight-y buzz, Kriti says she is looking at the entire process as a challenge. “Honestly, for me, putting on so many kilos is actually a challenge as it’s very new for my body. In a way, I’ve to fight my metabolism and increase my calorie intake to gain that much weight in a short time,” says the 29-year-old.

The interesting part is that for someone who is into fitness and sticking to healthy eating, her diet plan now means she has to eat desserts, fried food, junk food, cheese, etc., and eat a lot of that to increase her carb and fat intake. “Plus, she also has to increase the quantity of every meal and up the calorie intake. Sometimes, she has to eat even when she is not hungry,” says the source.

For the Heropanti (2014) actor, who is known to never “shy away” from “doing homework” for her roles, this physical transformation requires a lot of patience as well as commitment and she is up for it.

The insider adds: “Everyone still remembers the way she aced the local dialect and tone for Bareilly Ki Barfi (2017) and Luka Chuppi. For Panipat, she turned into a Marathi woman, learnt horse riding and sword fighting. For her, the idea is to ensure that her part looks convincing and natural regardless of the effort it requires.”

Kriti says she is kicked to put in her best for a part that is “extremely special” to her. “I’m excited to see the transformation. It’s a role very close to my heart and I want to give it everything I can, even if that means not taking up any other work/film in the process,” says Kriti, who also has Bachchan Pandey lined up, alongside Akshay Kumar.