Ranveer's dedication is impeccable and unquestionable: Mustafa Ahmed

His preparation included a lot of weight training, Mobility drills and we had to work a lot on his body for his flexibility as there are many fight scenes involved with the sword and horse riding in the film. We had to focus on all the aspects of his role. There were days where we had kept continuous 2-3 training sessions to work on his physique.

When we started, his weight was around 86. He was quite decently fit but, the character that he was playing we decided not be to show a ripped body as he was playing a warrior from the ancient times. They did not have abs so, we focused on the look where one needs to look very big and overwhelming. We didn't cut down a lot and the weight loss was only around 2 kilos, that is 84. He to gain fat for his Muscle mass.

We were giving him the proper amount of protein as he had to gain his muscle fat and he was working round the clock so we had to make sure that his protein intake was quite more. He was taking around 150-180 gram of proteins which was quite a lot. About 10-15 gram of fat was included in his diet which was helping him to sustain a good amount of energy through the day. We were trying to keep his carbohydrates very low and we were giving him very good carbs like sweet potato, vegetables and fruits like banana. We were very calculative and particular about his diet. Whatever amount of Carbohydrates we gave him in his meal was only for the first half, so that he could feel active for the rest of the day. The schedule was so tight that there were times when they were shooting it was very difficult to talk to him in person. Our goal was just to get the meals that can be consumed by him. Sometimes it did happen that because of the shoot he used to get into the skin of the character but, we did manage those meals and made sure that he ate maybe not every 2-3 hours but at least after 3-3.5 hours. My training format was such that I had told him not to eat forcefully. There's no need if he is not hungry but, he needs to as soon as he is hungry. There were times he didn't say because he used to be in the middle of the shots, I used to remind him between the shoots, "Are you hungry?" then he has to eat regardless of every other 2-3 hours.

He had to avoid sugar. It was completely cut down from his meals. He had a cheat meal once in a week where he could have anything. We followed the process during the entire schedule, in fact, he is still on it and following the same process as he is still shooting for the film. Besides that, there was no processed food. Everything that was processed was taken out. Like Mexican sauces and Salami. It had to be only fresh and organic food for him.

How was his dedication when you were training him?

The world knows his energy level. We had to sometimes hold him back because he is too enthusiastic and he wants to do too much. I had to tell him that this is enough and you should go back and rest. But, when it comes to training and his dedication it's impeccable and unquestionable. If he says he tired then he is dead tired otherwise he will not even say that he is. He never lied about his cheat meal if he would have cheated he would have definitely told me. He was so dedicated that he would shoot late till the night eat less but used to be there for the morning sessions doing cardio and stretches. In terms of dedication, I had no complaints.

No, I wasn't nervous because it was a Sanjay Leela Bhansali film. For me, it was about delivering what I had thought. It wasn't for the world to see but, I was doing it as I was given the responsibility by Ranveer itself. He just said that " I am giving and holding you the responsibility for my health and then for the role. That was the best part as he gave me the complete freedom. He never questioned. When I was training and watching him, he became so fit that he could do anything and everything in the film that was asked to do by Mr Bhansali. Like you can imagine giving 10s take of a sword scene with the same amount of energy level. I knew he would look really good onscreen but, when the posters and the trailer came out I had not imagined he would look so madly and extraordinary in it.

I would give most of the credit to him and my assistant trainer who worked on it with me. This movie has literally got sweat and blood out of all and Ranveer the most. When I saw him on the big screen I got goosebumps. It just feels like, the world is seeing the piece of a labour of hours of working out and being on the set. You cannot even imagine how desperately I am waiting for December 1 for the world to see what he has done. It's incredible!