Showing posts with label Drew Neal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Drew Neal. Show all posts
Almost everyone I know wants to be fit, and yet eat delicious food-Arjun Kapoor
8:07 AM
Arjun Kapoor on changing his Punjabi food habits to shed kilos for Bhoot Police and Ek Villain Returns
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; August 20, 2021)
Any fitness enthusiast will tell you that rigorous training needs to be complemented with a healthy diet to attain a fitness goal. That is where Arjun Kapoor’s troubles lay. The true blue Punjabi boy loved his butter chicken and other delicacies too much to eliminate them from his meal plan. But today, the actor — several kilos lighter as seen in the trailer of Bhoot Police — is glad to have altered his meal pattern over the past year.
He credits the change to chef Akshay Arora, who whipped up healthy meals for him without compromising on the taste. “Almost everyone I know wants to be fit, and yet eat delicious food. Akshay shares my vision that healthy food can be tasty too,” says Kapoor, who has battled obesity in the past.
The actor brought the chef on board last year along with trainer Drew Neal in his bid to attain a lean frame for the horror comedy and the upcoming Ek Villain Returns. Where Neal drew up a focussed workout regimen, Arora put him on a low-carb meal plan with an emphasis on portion control.
Kapoor’s customised meals today include everything, from waffles to roast chicken, and of course, a healthier variant of butter chicken prepared with nut butter. “Akshay has helped me stay motivated, and cut down on unhealthy snacking between meals. I have customised my diet, and found the right kind of food that will enable me on this journey to being better.”
I have dealt with obesity. So, I have to work harder than most people-Arjun Kapoor
8:34 AM
Arjun Kapoor on how teaming up with former world kickboxing champion Drew Neal has aided his fitness journey for Ek Villain Returns
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; August 13, 2021)
Having battled obesity since childhood, Arjun Kapoor is a prime example of how one can attain their fitness goals with the help of a healthy life and regular workout. The actor, who is required to sport a muscular frame in Ek Villain Returns, roped in former world kickboxing champion Drew Neal in February to guide him to attain the body type. What followed was six months of intense workouts that developed his core strength and enhanced his agility.
“I have dealt with obesity. So, I have to work harder than most people to achieve a certain body type that is required to play a Hindi film hero. If I do the same thing every day, I feel uninspired.”
It is his drive to experiment with workout forms that led him to Neal. “With him, I realised after a point that it’s all in the mind. The more focused you are, the better the results,” says Kapoor.
The actor, who will share screen space with John Abraham in the thriller, reveals that Drew not only helped him tone his physique, but also made him adopt a holistic approach that goes beyond his two-hour workout at the gym. “Drew understands that I need to be focused mentally and physically. For him, it’s not always about the end result, but also about being consistent. I have put in an excruciating amount of hard work to achieve the transformation. I’m happy that people are noticing the change.”
Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s trust in what Farhan Akhtar could produce, physically, was tried and tested-Drew Neal
8:04 AM
Drew Neal is also training Arjun Kapoor for Ek Villain Returns. Pics/Instagram
Former world kickboxing champion Drew Neal discusses his seven-year journey of teaching Bollywood’s brightest to punch way above their weight, both on and off screen
Sonia Lulla (MID-DAY; June 16, 2021)
Before a spate of Bollywood offerings began to come his way in 2013, Drew Neal was running a successful training company in the UK. Being unfamiliar with the Indian film industry, the kickboxing champion wasn’t easily lured, until Harsh Varrdhan Kapoor’s offering, 'Mirzya' seemed to hold promise. Citing the three-month contract as an “adventure and an opportunity to visit a country I had always wanted to see”, Neal agreed. Seven years later, he has expanded his foothold in India, working with Bollywood’s top brass to develop their boxing skills, both on and off screen.
Neal’s name is currently prominently associated with Farhan Akhtar, who has been learning from the trainer for his upcoming boxing-drama, 'Toofaan'. As has been with all athletic coaches mid-day has connected with to discuss Akhtar’s sports films, Neal too agrees that there isn’t scope to question the actor’s diligence. “It was clear that Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and Farhan had a relationship from a previous project that they had worked on. Rakeysh’s trust in what Farhan could produce, physically, was tried and tested, and it was evident to me how much of a hard-worker he really was,”
Neal shares. Even then, despite his meticulousness, which was only supported by his athletic frame, training him for the part was no mean feat. “Playing the part did not come naturally to him. We had to work painstakingly on his form in order to make him look and feel like a boxer. No matter how athletic one is, skills are learnt through practice and perseverance.”
Teaching the tropes was one part of the task at hand. Neal had to mould Akhtar’s frame to enable him to pull off the boxing choreography set by fighters and fitness experts, including Darrell Foster. “I was acquainted with the requirements [of the sequences] and I would ensure that Farhan was up to the task to perform the movements needed in the scenes.”
More recently, he has trained his attention to Arjun Kapoor, and celebrates the luxury of time — one year — afforded to him to ready the actor for 'Ek Villain Returns. “This is how I prefer to work with my clients. I don’t believe in fast transformations. I have seen numerous transformations that have been too aggressive and this practice has health and psychological implications.”
When details around the role-requirement and physical appearances are established, he draws out a comprehensive plan.
“I always say, what gets measured, gets managed. The plan covers all aspects of [his] lifestyle. I know exactly how many calories he consumes, and how many he expends. I am aware about his sleep cycle. My diary is full of data that I use to get the most out of my client. I work out how many calories [he] needs to sustain the current weight, and then factor in the goal, and adjust the numbers. Muscle gain needs a calorie-surplus, whereas fat-loss needs a deficit. The nutrition plan is tailor-made,” he says, adding that attention is also paid to the amount of rest an actor gets, given the erratic schedules in their line of work.
“Actors are judged by millions based on how they look and perform. This pressure can work in a positive or negative way. It is up to me to develop the trust in the relationship, and I constantly tell them to trust the process,” says Neal, who has also trained Shibani Dandekar, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Amrita Arora Ladak.
Knock-out punch
Neal, who featured as a boxer in Salman Khan’s Sultan, says tricks can be employed to be a better boxer, on screen. “While acting, I realised that being a fighter was a disadvantage. I was used to being close to my opponents, and making contact. In action [on screen], the distance between actors is greater, even though the cameras are so positioned that it appears otherwise. I also learnt that selling a punch actually comes from the person getting hit, rather than the person throwing the blow. Acting the reaction is difficult.”
Darrell Foster made me ready for the camera-Farhan Akhtar
7:46 AM
Having learnt the ropes of boxing for Toofan since March, Farhan on how Hollywood action-choreographer fine-tuned the film's sequences
Sonia Lulla (MID-DAY; October 7, 2019)
A quick glance at his repertoire reveals that Farhan Akhtar's choice of films have been anything but frivolous. If his upcoming film, The Sky Is Pink, hinges on an intriguing script, Akhtar says his boxing drama Toofan also offered the kind of solid storyline that he was seeking, so as to return to acting after his hiatus last year, to create music.Akhtar's Instagram feed reeks of the toil he has been putting in to slip into the part of a boxer in Rakesh Omprakash Mehra's next, the prep of which, he tells us, commenced in March with professional boxer, Drew Neal. Leaving no stone unturned to ensure his punches hit viewers in their gut, he also employed action choreographer Darrell Foster, credited for training a long list of heavyweights, including Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith, Antonio Banderas and Eddie Murphy.
"Darrell has been boxing since the age of 10. Now at 61, he is fitter than most teenagers I've seen," says Akhtar, crediting the athlete — with films like Ali and Bleed For This to his credit — for lending the film's stunt sequences an incredible finesse.
"With Drew, I learnt authentic boxing. But Darrell altered that to make sure I'm ready for the camera. For instance, while shooting, if I'd cover my face completely in a boxing stance, the audience will not be able to see me. At the same time, I can't lower my arms such that I look like I'm waiting to get hit. That's the kind of gap that Darrell bridged. He also designed most of the choreography. He's a taskmaster, but he also looks out for you, as well as the rest of the boxers on set; constantly ensuring they're all doing okay," says Akhtar, who will kick off the second shooting leg in November.
One might assume that the physical exertion he endured to ace his act as a runner in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag could be a deterrent to give his nod to yet another sports drama, but Akhtar suggests otherwise. "Running is not an alien concept. Everyone can run, some faster than the others, but you always have the general knowledge. Boxing is something I had to learn from scratch because I had never done it before. I am loving every bit of it."
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