Hyderabad: The over-100 kg weight sported by both Prabhas and Rana is for their upcoming film Baahubali. Both the actors undertook special training to put on the physique required for their roles.
Prabhas and Rana Daggubati are playing two of the most important roles in the magnum opus. Prabhas plays the lead role while Rana plays the villain. The director wanted both of them to put on weight to fit their characterisation in the film. Unlike Rajamouli’s earlier films, this one is a folk drama.
It’s not easy to put on weight and to also keep your muscles toned unless a fitness trainer closely monitors the whole process.
Prabhas and Rana got fitness trainer Lakshman Reddy to work with them. Lakshman Reddy is the winner of the Mr World 2010 bodybuilding championship held in Las Vegas (USA) and has won 13 titles in India and abroad.
Prabhas started his training eight months before the shooting for Baahubali started. “Putting on weight while keeping muscle tone intact needs a lot of time. I monitored food intake and workouts very closely for both of them,” says Lakshman Reddy.
“It has been two years now and Prabhas’ exact weight is 100 kg now,” he added.
“Their daily diet consisted of six to eight meals – all non-vegetarian. No rice was given at all. Meals were eaten every two hours. The total calorie intake would range between 2000 to 4000 calories a day,” he says.
Prabhas has two avatars in the film. One is lean and the other a bulky and heavy one.
And what would be the right way to reduce weight and muscle after the film is over? Reddy says, “The process will be the same but you have to limit the food intake, depending on the person’s requirements. It takes four to five months to reduce,” he says.
He clarifies that he never supports the use of steroids for physique building. “Drugs are risky and cause health problems,” he says.
He prefers natural diets and regular training. “A daily workout is compulsory. Otherwise problems are sure to crop up,” he says.
Lakshman is now focusing completely on Prabhas and is in charge of his fitness and health. He was initially training Rana also, but now, a friend is looking after Rana’s training.
