My aim was to make Priyanka look like a female boxer: Samir Jaura

Priyanka Chopra’s poster of Mary Kom created a stir on the social media. Many in Bollywood too have commented on how stunning the actress looks and how close to the real person her image has come. Her fitness trainer, Samir Jaura, saw the poster and immediately messaged PC on getting such a positive feedback. Pat came the reply, “We did it”.

It all started in January 2013, when Samir got a call to train Priyanka for the biopic. He had already wrapped up a vigorous one-year training schedule for Farhan Akhtar in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and for the preparation of Mary Kom, he took some time off to watch footage of the champ’s bouts, before agreeing to meet Priyanka.

“The world knows who Mary Kom is and I saw clips of her to understand her body language. My aim was to make Priyanka look like a female boxer.” That proved a little tougher than thought. Samir soon found that Priyanka was an incredibly busy actress and for a man who insists on dedication, quite a bit of the star’s schedule had to be reworked.

“She was involved in several commitments at that time. Gunday was being shot and she was also dubbing for Krrish. We had to sneak in the training amidst all of this,” adds Samir. That’s why a decision was made — he would travel wherever she would go. “It had to be done. I travelled with her wherever she went, be it to award ceremonies or when she went to Los Angeles for a song with Pitbull. We didn’t want an on-off training process.”

“It wasn’t easy for her because she had not done this kind of thing before. But it worked out because the body was accepting and despite the physical shock, the results were fantastic,” claims Samir.

Finally, there came a 15-day break and the trainer jumped at the opportunity, suggesting a place anywhere far away from work where Priyanka could just train. The actress agreed and plans were made to fly off to Goa — to a bungalow, which the star had bought a few years ago.  

“And once we reached there, we started training for five hours, every single day. Her body was also recovering from work-related stress and she was getting sleep right as well.”
The coach was also impressed by Priyanka’s agility. “I often called her Spider-Man ki behen. She is fantastic and is one of the most flexible people I’ve ever seen. She is into a lot of dancing so her endurance is very good.”

“Soon, after a month of workouts, which included weights and circuit training, it was time to start “moving like a boxer,” he said adding, “After a month, Priyanka insisted on boxing training as well because she wanted to get her stance right. So, we made boxing part of her daily workout.”

“Every diet was broken down and structured. It was a system real boxers would follow and junk food simply went out of the window.” Priyanka was also true to the training. “She never missed out on her workout. I think she is looking awesome and certainly packs a good punch. It has been the result of great dedication.”