Showing posts with label Rajkummar Rao diet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rajkummar Rao diet. Show all posts
Rajkummar Rao breaks silence on viral look that left fans concerned
10:52 AM
Amid online chatter, Rajkummar Rao sets the record straight on his recent physical transformation
Renuka Vyavahare (BOMBAY TIMES; February 17, 2026)
Rajkummar Rao’s recent appearance at the Bolti Khidkiyaan film fest set social media abuzz. The actor looked noticeably different from his usual self – a few kilos heavier, with thinner hair and a slightly haggard appearance – sparking widespread concern online. Fans on social media were quick to jump to conclusions, with unverified claims and chatter about his health and career doing the rounds.
When we reached out to Rajkummar, the actor told us, “It’s strange how people can jump to conclusions and get judgemental without even checking the facts. I gained around 10 kg for the upcoming biopic Nikam (based on Ujjwal Nikam, the special public prosecutor and politician, known for handling high-profile cases), for which I had to look older. I am also in the transition phase where I am preparing for Sourav Ganguly’s biopic. For that part, I need to lose weight, so I am between certain look tests and that’s how I showed up for the event. There is nothing to worry about. I am simply navigating two demanding biographical roles and hence, the change in my appearance is striking.”
The actor added, “For Bose, I went half bald. During Srikanth, I became the character even when cameras weren’t rolling. My focus is always on fully embodying the character I am playing.”
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HINDUSTAN TIMES (February 17, 2026)
On Monday morning, Rajkummar Rao put speculation to rest after his recent appearance sparked concern online. Taking to Instagram, the 41-year-old actor explained that the noticeable weight gain and altered hairline were part of his preparation for his upcoming biopic on Rajya Sabha MP Ujjwal Nikam.
“It has demanded me to change physically, which I love doing. I’m not a believer in prosthetics as long as I can achieve the look through my hard work, be it gaining weight, looking old (to play a certain age) or to make my hair thin,” he wrote.
Rajkummar gained around 10 kg for the role: “I was eating two pizzas, a lot of sweets and my favourite aloo parathas, biryani, and not using anything glam to look like the part.”
The actor added that he is currently in the “transition phase”, losing the extra weight for a biopic on “our very own Dada”, former Indian cricket team skipper Sourav Ganguly.
Notably, this is not the first time Rajkummar has undergone an extreme physical transformation for his role. “Everyone told me not to go half bald for Bose: Dead Or Alive (2017), or not to stop eating and lose so much weight for Trapped (2017), or not to behave like a visually impaired person even when cameras weren’t rolling during Srikanth (2024),” he wrote, adding, “Hopefully, when you see Nikam, you will be able to see all that hard work... Will always work the hardest to engage you, entertain you through my work.”
Image: Rajkummar Rao beefs up to play a cop in Badhaai Do
8:56 AM
Onkar Kulkarni (BOMBAY TIMES; December 15, 2020)
Rajkummar Rao is known to surprise his audience with every film that he picks. The actor takes great effort in getting into the skin of the characters he plays, even if that involves a physical transformation. His upcoming film, Badhaai Do, is special to him, and he recently gave a glimpse of his prep for the project on social media.
He will be seen playing a tough cop at a Mahila Police Thana, in the Junglee Pictures’ highly anticipated film, also starring Bhumi Pednekar, and for that he has been training rigorously for the past couple of months and following a strict diet to achieve the desired result. Besides the physical makeover, he will also surprise us with another aspect as far as his look is concerned — he will sport a moustache and a hairstyle that is completely different from what we have seen so far in his previous films.
Speaking about his transformation, the actor tells BT, “Badhaai Do is indeed a special film for me. I have been following a strict regime. Being a vegetarian, I am following a natural and organic diet that includes fruits, oats, quinoa, sattu and lots of vegetables. Even during the lockdown, when the access to the gym was restricted, I would work out at home regularly, and this entire process has been life-changing for me.”
Two years after their National Award-winning film, Badhaai Ho, Junglee Pictures is set to roll out Badhaai Do, that boasts of a fabulous cast. Directed by Harshavardhan Kulkarni and written by Akshat Ghildial and Suman Adhikary, it brings together Rajkummar and Bhumi for the first time. The film is slated to go on the floors in January 2021.
After gaining 13 kilos for Bose, Rajkummar Rao sheds 10 kilos in a month for Fanney Khan
7:43 AM
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; October 17, 2017)
His acting prowess aside, Rajkummar Rao has a knack for wowing the audience with his physical transformation. After putting on 13 kilos and shaving his head for his web series on Subhas Chandra Bose, the actor has now lost 10 kilos in a month’s time for his upcoming film, Fanney Khan, which sees him opposite Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.
“I always knew I would have to lose the excess weight post the show,” says Rao, who promptly followed a strict diet and adopted a strenuous workout regimen once the shoot was wrapped up in early September.
The hard work paid off — Rao looked relatively lighter during the promotions of Newton in mid-September. However, the road to his lean physique was not an easy one. The actor admits that he has “stopped having breakfast or lunch.” “I directly have dinner, which is essentially a meal high on proteins. Since I am constantly working, the hunger pangs don’t hit me as hard. As far as my workout is concerned, I am doing cardio and muscle training for at least three hours every day.”
Almost back to his old physique, Rao rues that it will be a no-binge Diwali for him. “It’s going to be one tough week for me. I have no option but to hold myself back. Being fit has always been my mantra.”
After losing weight for Trapped, Rajkummar Rao puts on 11 kg for his Subhas Chandra Bose turn
7:41 AM
The actor has been enjoying the ‘golden period’ of his life as he binges on junk food and discontinues working out for his next
Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 5, 2017)
Known to slip into his onscreen avatars seamlessly, National Award-winning actor Rajkummar Rao had locked himself in a house for three weeks, living on a diet of carrots and black coffee, to lose eight kg for his turn as Shaurya in Vikramaditya Motwane’s survival-drama, Trapped. For Behen Hogi Teri, which followed Trapped, the 32-year-old actor tipped the scales on his normal weight with a scheduled workout plan and a diet rich in proteins and fibre.
Now, Mirror has learnt that he has put on another 11 kg for his pot-bellied, balding look for his portrayal as Subhash Chandra Bose in a series directed by Hansal Mehta.
Speaking to Mirror between shots, Rajkumar said, “For all my previous films — Citylights, Aligarh and of course Trapped— I’ve been asked to lose weight. So I was delighted when I was asked to gain weight. I have been binging on pizzas, Bengali sweets and junk food for the last one month and a half and will continue this routine till August. I stopped working out two months ago.” Hailing the prep as the “golden period” of his life, the actor says that he’s been eating everything he has craved but couldn’t because his directors wanted him in a certain look.
For his Netaji avatar, the makers tried to make the look work with prosthetics for the hairline and the waistline but it wasn’t what the actor wanted. Rajkummar then decided to work through an internal and external process for the part. “I decided that I wanted to see the character whenever I looked in a mirror and not Rajkummar. I even listened to Rabindrasangeet on the loop and read Bose’s unfinished autobiography to connect with the era. These helped me the most,” he says, adding that the series portrays him in several looks from Bose’s college days to when the freedom fighter founded the Indian National Army.
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