Star trainer Rakesh Udiyar

It’s been a hard life for Rakesh Udiyar, better known as the fitness trainer of Aamir Khan and Salman Khan. After his father suffered a paralytic stroke, young Rakesh sold small items in local trains and he and his brother would together earn around Rs 25 a day. Later, Rakesh’s mom got a job as a house help, and the owner volunteered to send the two siblings to school. Rakesh simultaneously worked at a dhaba.

“I was always inclined towards fitness and read about it extensively. At 16, I got a job as a sweeper at one of the gyms and was later promoted to a floor trainer. Eventually, I became a freelancer and started training celebrities,” says Rakesh, recalling his foray into the fitness industry.

Salman Khan is one of Rakesh’s star clients. “I was already training Arbaaz (Khan) when Salman called me and asked if I was willing to work with him for Bodyguard. I have been with him ever since,” says Rakesh.

It was Salman who suggested Rakesh’s name to Ram Charan, who wanted a ripped body for Dhruva. “Charan is a good friend of Salman. When Charan told him that he wanted to get into good shape, Salman suggested my name,” he says adding, “I flew down to Hyderabad to train Charan. He still consults me — I send him a protocol about his training, nutrition etc. For his next movie, he is working on a leaner look.”

Rakesh has also trained Dia Mirza, Kunal Kapoor, Daisy Shah and Pulkit Samrat among others. It was before Aamir started PK that Rakesh got a call asking him to be his trainer.

In the pipeline is Aamir’s next project, Thugs of Hindostan and Salman Khan’s Tubelight. Talking about Aamir’s transformation in Dangal, Rakesh says, “Actors keep losing and gaining weight for their characters, but they have doctors and trainers working closely with them; a fitness regime and diet to get the look. For Dangal, Aamir had to drop down from 97 kgs and he had the right team to help him achieve this.”

Rakesh reveals that both Aamir and Salman are very particular about their workout sessions. “Even if Salman is really tired or comes home late, he hits the gym. While he loves to eat, especially his mom’s food, he would never put on extra calories,” says Rakesh.