Weight and watch!

A ticket to Bollywood is certainly not easy. Ask some of our young actors and they'll tell you all they've done to get an entry. And we aren't talking about acting lessons or dance classes.


But heavyweight gym exercises and rigorous diets. A good number of Bollywood's budding stars have reached this point after shedding many kilos.

Take the much-spoken about Saawariya star Sonam. She shed 30 kg for the character and the pretty girl, who loves chocolates, has been on a low-fat diet ever since. Sonam has said in her interviews, "I was fat and was wearing a pair of thick spectacles then.

I had put on weight after eating a lot of junk food when I was in Singapore. I couldn't have become an actress the way I looked. It is only after I started shooting for Saawariya that I was back to the weight I had when I was 16."

Shekhar Suman's son Adhyayan lost 45 kgs in one year after which he signed his first film — Kumar Mangat's Haal-e-Dil. "You have to be determined and religiously follow your diet and gym regime," says Adhyayan. "It was hard, there were times when I would get tempted, but I had my goal in mind. I knew I wanted to be an actor and that's what kept me going."

Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt's son Rahul, who's set to star in Suicide Bomber, also has gone through his share of rigors. So has Sunil and Maya Alagh's daughter Anjori Alagh. And, of course, Boney Kapoor's son Arjun, who is only looking to be a filmmaker.

But you never know when he decides to make the switch. Govinda's daughter Narmada, who also aspires to get into films, used to be quite rolypoly. But now the girl's slim and ready for the big screen. In fact, recently at an event abroad when she was photographed with her Sallu chachu, people wondered who this girl was with Salman Khan.

Incidentally, even in the past star kids have been quite fat and just managed to get rid of the extra flab before entering filmdom. Raveena Tandon used to be overweight in college. Kareena Kapoor too was pleasantly plump. Not to forget Abhishek Bachchan who looked a khate-peete ghar ka ladka in his first few films. Amjad Khan son's Shadaab, who acted in a few films, actually reduced to almost half his size for the camera!

"It's not about being star kids, but about an individual's food habits and metabolism," says trade analyst Taran Adarsh. "Today in the industry it's hit out or get out. You don't get a second chance. So every newcomer has to come in well-prepared in every department — acting, dancing, horse-riding and most important, appearance — because that's the first thing the audience gets to see. They have to be in ship-shape. The camera never hides!" says Adarsh.

After all the effort put in, maintaining their newly-acquired physiques is quite a task. But their love for the screen should ensure that. As Adhyayan says, "There's no worry of putting on weight. Now it's only about getting better and acquiring my six-pack abs."