‘I battled weight issues to get here’

Mumbai: For 28-year old Nikhil Sachdeva, the Roadies journey started with a disappointment. He had auditioned for Roadies X and was rejected — the judges had made fun of him since he was overweight.
But Nikhil took it as a challenge and after shedding those extra kilos,  went back to audition for Roadies XI and impressed the judges.

Talking about the audition and what inspired him to lose weight, Nikhil, a Delhi-based tattoo artist, says, “Last year I weighed 110 kg. During the audition the judges asked me to remove my shirt and that episode was embarrassing. Rannvijay had told me, ‘Lose weight and we will consider you.’ Taking the advice seriously, I worked out for five months and lost more than 25 kilos. I sent my ‘before and after’ photographs and was called for the auditions.” An impressed Raghu also gifted him a book with a message — “You turned out to be one of the coolest guys”.

But it was not just the “weighty issue” that brought him back to Roadies. He wanted to become a roadie and dedicate the victory to his friend Prabhjot Singh Sidhu, who passed away last year.
“People are now considering me as an inspiration. They are reaching out to me and asking me how to lose weight,” he says.

Nikhil has now moved to Mumbai and has already got offers from TV soaps. “I have got offers but I am still thinking about it. I don’t think I can pull off a daily soap character. But if I get an opportunity to be a VJ or an anchor I will take it,” he says.