Heavy duty

Actor Ashish Sharma puts on muscle and then loses 10 kg within two months for TV show.

Just like film stars, TV actors too are willing to experiment with their looks to get into character these days. For Zee TV’s new show, Rab Se Sohna Isshq (RSSI), actor Ashish Sharma went the extra mile by putting on weight and losing it within a span of two months.

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“I had a lean frame since I was playing a warrior king in Chandragupt Maurya. To play a Punjabi guy in RSSI, I had to put on muscle. I developed biceps for the part of the show where my character, Ranveer, is in Punjab. Then I lost that weight for the portions where Ranveer is in London because he’s working hard to survive. The physicality in both the portions reflects the two phases of his life,” he says.

Ashish admits that he had to eat a lot to bulk up, but he “also had to exercise to get muscle definition”.

“I did lot of

akhada

-style workouts, which helped me get that

pehelwaan

look,” says the actor, who took a month to get into shape before shooting the show in Punjab for 40 days. Then, for the three-month London schedule, he began losing weight. “I cut down on carbohydrates and gradually went on a zero-carb diet. I worked out with resistance cables and did a lot of cardio. That’s how I was able to lose 10 kg of muscle mass.”

He believes that audiences notice the hard work that artistes like him put into a role; and that’s what kept him motivated: “It’s time we start considering TV a serious medium of entertainment. Our audiences are smart.”

In RSSI, Ashish has been cast with newbie Ekta Kaul. He plays the role of a carefree guy who wants to go to London at any cost. When he gets the opportunity, he deserts his fiancé (Ekta) on their wedding day. However, she follows him to London convinced that love will conquer all.