Imran Khan is one of those actors who rose to fame after his debut movie in Bollywood. Before his debut as a lead, he had also played the role of a child artist in films like Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak and Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar. The actor showcased his potential and was deemed as one of the stars of the new generation. After a series of flops and controversies, the actor took a sabbatical from doing movies. Imran Khan was last seen in the movie Katti Batti in 2015 with Kangana Ranaut. The movie couldn’t do well at the box office. The actor who might be on the cusp of making his comeback has been quite active on social media, sharing snippets and anecdotes from the projects he has been part of. His latest one is no exception.
On Friday, Imran Khan took to his Instagram handle and shared an old picture of himself, flaunting his biceps and physique. Along with the pics, Imran Khan also wrote a note, recalling how he has been a skinny guy for most of his life but how he caught on to the obsession of bulking up, in the context of Bollywood heroes. He wrote, “I’m one of those hyper-metabolic people, my body just burns through whatever I consume. Oh no, what a terrible affliction! In my late teens, guys around me started joining gyms and working out. They started to expand, their biceps stretching the sleeves of their t-shirts. I wore a size S, and my sleeves were still loose.”
“I didn’t need to be muscular to play Jai Singh Rathore (his character in Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Naa)… but I was convinced that I was too skinny, which is why Jai mostly wears two layers of clothing throughout Jaane Tu. For my next film, Kidnap, I hit the gym in earnest, and began my journey with body building,” he further shared.
Revealing all the mean comments that he had to deal with, Imran Khan continued, “Over the next few years, the sculpting and maintenance of my body became part of my lifestyle. I worked out regularly, but still I would hear “So… you’ll bulk up a bit before we start shooting, right?”; “You’re looking weak”, “You look like a little boy, not a man”, and “The heroine looks bigger than you” (ouch for both of us).”
Admitting that he also resorted to taking steroids, Imran Khan commented, “In hindsight, I think I looked fine… but at the time, I felt insecure. I wanted a powerful, heroic physique. So I tried harder. Exercise means nothing without nutrition; 6 meals a day, totalling 4000 calories. Chicken breast, egg whites, sweet potato, oats, flax seeds… all good stuff, but still not enough to make my biceps look like the heroes I saw onscreen. No, for that I needed to supplement with whey protein, creatine, leucine, glutamine, L-carnitine… and ultimately, even anabolic steroids. We’re not supposed to admit that part out loud, it could totally ruin the illusion.”
Imran Khan didn’t shy from getting candid about all the speculations regarding his frame, at the time when he was battling with depression, “In recent years, as I battled depression and stopped working out, I became skinnier than I’d ever been. When I was photographed, it sparked a media discussion about my wellbeing, and speculations of drug abuse! I felt deeply ashamed, embarrassed to be seen by anyone in this state. So I retreated further,” he narrated.
The actor concluded, “It’s been an uphill journey, but these days I’m doing better than ever; I exercise with my old friend @tokastraining who puts my health first and only feeds me supplements like walnuts and turmeric… seriously. And while I’m still a tad jealous of those dudes with superhero muscles… I don’t feel bad about myself.”
Despite early commercial success, Imran also faced setbacks when his films Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola and Katti Batti did not perform well. He did make a comeback as a director in 2018, helming the short film Mission Mars: Keep Walking India but did not pursue a career in direction thereafter.
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