The trailer of Peddi dropped on Monday, with leading man Ram Charan impressing with his desi wrestler look in the film, in which his character, known as Peddi, also aces other sports — be it cricket, running, cycling and even hauling a motorcyle over his shoulder and picking up a car with his bare hands (if that can be considered a sport).

Ram Charan’s rugged, extremely fit look in the film is courtesy celebrity fitness trainer Rakkesh R. Uddiyar, who has worked with some of the biggest in Bollywood, including Aamir Khan and Salman Khan. In a conversation with t2, Uddiyar took us through the process of what went into Ram Charan’s Peddi lookbook. The film, that also stars Janhvi Kapoor, releases in cinemas on June 4 in multiple languages, including Hindi.

What has the reaction to Ram Charan’s look in Peddi been like so far?

The feedback is really good. This is a very massy look, and his fans are happy with it. Once the film releases, I am sure those who are associated with sports, particularly wrestling, will also connect with the look.

What was the initial brief given to you for his desi pehelwan look?

Both Buchi Babu Sana (director) and Ram Charan sir were very clear that they wanted a mud-pile wrestler (pehelwan) look. He shouldn’t look like a Greek god, he couldn’t have a body like Hrithik Roshan. So it became a challenge for me to keep him lean but also make him look like a desi wrestler.

Can you take us through the process?

The process lasted over a year-and-a-half. It is not a look that has been achieved in a few months. The script was written very well and gave me a clear direction of what I should go in for. It has been a team effort, with Ram Charan’s look being contributed to by various departments, including costume and cinematography.

Ram Charan was fully committed to the process. At that time, he was doing the ‘Mala’ (the process of Ayyappa Swamy Deeksha, a period of austerity) for which he turned vegetarian. That part was a little tricky because vegetarian food doesn’t have as many protein sources as a non-vegetarian diet has. But we worked around it and gave him enough sources in order for him to be able to fulfil his calorie intake.

For his diet, we followed carb cycling (combining high-carb days for energy with low-carb days to promote fat loss). There is a section of the film where he has to look lean, and when he starts his kushti, he had to be buffed up. So his carbohydrate intake had to be balanced on a high-low basis. His protein sources were tofu, edamame, nuts, salads.... He has a personal chef who is extremely aware and that helped me a lot.

Ram Charan is known to be very disciplined even otherwise...

He is very spiritual, and so is the rest of his family, so being naturally disciplined comes easily to him. His dad (actor Chiranjeevi) motivates him a lot. During the shoot, he got injured in the eye. But he got his stitches and was back the next day on set. He is extremely focused. He would train as early as 4am!

For his training for Peddi, we focused a lot on MTUT (Menace Time Under Tension, focusing on high metabolic stress to promote muscle growth while reducing injury risk). That is my specialty. He did things like dand baithak, used a mugdal, did rope climbing.... There was mobility work and fascia release involved as part of his training.

And there were no cheat days?

He did! He would have a cheat meal once a week but that was also with healthy alternatives. Once in a while, when he wasn’t vegetarian, he even had biryani. Cheat days are important because no one can stay consistently on a very strict diet. It is also essential to boost metabolism.

You have been working with Ram Charan for many years now. What has the experience been like so far?

The whole family is very down-to-earth and connected to each other. Ram Charan is a family man who prioritises his children above everything else. I have never seen him angry and that has worked very well for our professional relationship. Many stars have outbursts on set, and even otherwise, but I have never seen him or Aamir sir (Aamir Khan) ever do that.

You have trained the likes of Aamir, Salman Khan, Vicky Kaushal and more. How has the approach to fitness on the part of actors evolved over the last decade?

People like Salman, Aamir, Shah Rukh, Akshay Kumar... they are for the ages. The way they have maintained themselves even now shows how fully committed they are to fitness, and not just because they are actors and stars. Akshay Kumar has always done martial arts, one has hardly ever seen him weight training. But Salman has been doing weight-training for at least 40 years. Their approach is different, but all of them remain consistent with what they have been doing, even as they embrace new forms of fitness.

Even actresses train a lot, but even in the earlier days, when it was lesser, heroines like Madhuri Dixit and Karisma Kapoor, were very focused on their training. It is just that now we hear and see so much about it because of social media and paparazzi videos and because the stars themselves like to share their diet and training regimen.

Also, for anyone who enters the film industry, their singular focus is to come in fit. Your body is your currency now and what stars do to stay fit inspires so many other people.

Does the habit many actors have to put out their training and fitness regimes constantly on social media sometimes put pressure on you as a trainer?

It does, to be honest. Once a week is fine, but if someone is doing it all the time, then you are wasting everyone’s time. One should make social media videos elsewhere, not in the gym. It inconveniences everyone. I also feel that one doesn’t need to spend hours in a gym, like many people do. But now everything has become fodder for social media.

Do you think that a lot of people fall prey to the notion that the ideal celebrity body is a six pack?

Technically, everyone has the abdominal muscle that creates a six-pack, but it is not visible on all, of course, because of lack of fitness and lifestyle choices. Celebrities may propagate the idea of six-pack abs, but fitness is about strength and agility. Dedication, discipline and determination is what one needs to have to stay fit, not a six pack.

Who among the current generation of Bollywood actors are extremely clued into the fitness game?

Varun Dhawan, Ayushmann Khurrana, Tiger Shroff, Vicky Kaushal... this era is totally different. Honestly, I won’t be biased... even many in the older generation of actors is extremely clued into fitness... they really know what works for their body and what doesn’t.

Who, according to you, is the fittest actor and actress in Bollywood?
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