Hrithik Roshan made me feel there is hope: Bandish Bandits' Shreya Chaudhry on getting a reply from her ‘forever crush’
Bandish Bandits actor Shreya Chaudhry opens up on her fitness journey, being overweight, getting inspired from Hrithik Roshan, him replying to her ‘love letter’
Known for her glam look, Bandish Bandits actor Shreya Chaudhry recently gave a surprise to her fans with a throwback picture from her teenage years and recalled how she used to be an overweight girl. But she found her inspiration in actor Hrithik Roshan and embarked on her fitness journey. “It’s been almost a decade long journey. I used to weight my highest at the age of 16, around 86 kgs, when this picture was taken. Since then, I have lost an odd 25 kilos,” she shares.

Shreya Chaudhry got a big surprise herself as Hrithik Roshan replied to her and said, “You are a champion. Look at you! Thanks for inspiring me in return.” Overjoyed with the response, she says, “It means the world to me. He's much more to me than just an actor. He just kept working hard and made things possible for him when others doubted. He made me feel that there is hope, that if you work hard, you can make the impossible possible.”
The actor adds that she met Hrithik for the first time when she was about four-years-old as a common contact between them knew how big of a fan she was of him and urged Roshan to meer her. “It is kind of my thank you letter to him and it's so gracious of him to take out that time and even say the things he said to me. I felt like the best person in the world. He is even better than what I thought he was. The reply that he's given me, ye unka badappan hai. My pride is that I have chosen the correct role model. He has inspired me all over again,” she says.
As for her fitness journey, Shreya insists that it has been a tough one, but she never doubted herself. “I was just going to college when I had a phase of being very overweight. I never really spoke about it until now. I felt a little vulnerable to put it out as I didn't know how people were going to react, but at some point, it was also empowering,” she says.
The actor adds that she was never conscious or underconfident because of her looks, but admits that she was mocked for it. “I have been called ‘moti’ and ‘Shrek’ based on the overweight character in the movie. When you're 17-18 years old, and somebody is saying these things to you, it can hurt you without even realising.,” she says, adding, “I'll always be that girl inside of me. So, when today somebody is appreciating me from an exterior point of view, it does nothing to me.”
It was actually due to health issues that Shreya embarked on her fitness journey: “I remember seeing a doctor because I had a bad backache. He said ‘Shreya your back is absolutely fine, you just need to lose weight’. Up until then, nobody had told me that I need to lose weight. That's when I came across an article of Hrithik Roshan and my respect and love for him motivated me. I felt like if Hrithik can do it, I can do it. I found the right people who guided me to it, and then I adopted a sport which is boxing. I absolutely fell in love with it and now, my two hours in boxing class, are mine. It's like self love.”
