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29 March 2024

How far will Kareena Kapoor go for a movie role?

Indian Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor poses on the set of a television show during the promotion of the forthcoming Hindi film “Dabbang 2” in Lonavala some 50kms south-east of Mumbai late November 30, 2012. (AFP)

Published
By Sneha May Francis

While some actors aren’t afraid to go the extra mile to authenticate their movie roles, there are some like Kareena Kapoor who are unwilling to.

The actress, apparently, is reluctant to chop off her hair for Prakash Jha’s next movie ‘Satyagraha’.

Considering she had to fight Deepika Padukone and Katrina Kaif for this movie part, one would think that she’d wisen up and not upset her director over “beauty issues”.

“I’m going to play a very glamourous role in the film. I will not be cutting my hair for sure. Long, flowing hair is one of the USP’s of an actress,” the actress is quoted in the Indian media.

So, we step back and take a look some of the crazy stuff actors have done for their movies.

Shabana and Nandita for ‘Water’

Talking about hair, there’s Shabana Azmi and Nandita Das, who both shaved off their locks for Deepa Mehta’s ‘Water’.

Unfortunately the movie got shelved due to local protests, and went on to be remade much later but without the original cast.

The film portrayed the plight of widows in India and was made with Lisa Ray and Seema Biswas in the lead. The new recruits also didn’t fuss and got tonsured for the same parts.

Irrfan Khan

In a bid to perfect his part as a bandit in the epic drama ‘Paan Singh Tomar’, Irrfan trained rigorously with steeplechase coaches.

There were even reports of the actor injuring his ankle during the filming.

He recalled the experience as "the most physically and mentally demanding film of my career".

Filmmaker Tigmanshu Dhulia added that they had national athletic coach training the actor.

Irrfan also undertook lessons on voice modulation and pronunciation as he spoke in a local dialect in ‘Paan Singh Tomar’.

Farhan Akhtar

For Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s next ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ that focuses on the trials and tribulations of the legendary athlete, Farhan Akhtar had to undergo a complete makeover.

From growing his hair and styling it into a high bun, to working out a ribbed physique, Farhan has done it all.

In fact, he has worked really hard to get body of the sporting icon right. “He has been religiously following a fitness regime that athletes follow for almost two years now,” the Indian media reported.

“Farhan has a lean body and this is the first time that he has worked on his body. And playing Milkha Singh meant that he had to follow the regime of runners, which is very difficult. He's as fit as a sportsman now.”

Aamir Khan

He’s known to do things differently, and he constantly reinvents himself for his movie parts.

Whether it was growing a thick moustache for ‘Mangal Pandey’ or chiseling out a six-pack for ‘Ghajini’, or sporting a funky crop for ‘Dil Chahta Hai’, Aamir’s known to go all out to work on the physicality of his characters.

In fact, he even lost eight kilos to play the role of a college student in the blockbuster ‘3 Idiots’.

“I am an actor and I have to do different roles. According to the requirements of the film I have to change myself. For ‘Ghajini’ I had to make my body but now I had to lose weight,” he was quoted in an Indian daily.

Abhishek Bachchan

He piled on the pounds for his aged transition in Mani Ratnam’s critically-acclaimed movie ‘Guru’.

According to media reports, he put on 10 kilos for the role and the filmmaker helped him by ensuring he was well fed on the film set.

It is reported that Abhi ate as many as a dozen rasagullas every day during the film shoot, and even his lunch box was full of his favourite dishes.

In fact, soon after ‘Guru’, Abhi had to hit the gym to tone down for his next movie part as the spunky cop in ‘Dhoom2’.

Preity Zinta

Whether it was the frizzy curls for ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ or a pixie crop for ‘Lakshay’, Preity hasn’t shied away from experimenting with her hair for her movie parts.

In fact, she reportedly chopped off her hair for her next movie ‘Ishq in Paris’ and even donated her locks to make wigs for cancer patients.