Why Anushka Shetty 20 Kilos Wearing a Fat Suit
She’s tall, slim and beautiful and one of the top heroines in the South. Yet Anushka Shetty consentient to put on 20 kilos for Inji Idupazhagi (Size Zero), her next film in Tamil and Telugu, produced by PVP Cinemas. Anushka, who was lately seen in SS Rajamouli’s Baahubali, which won over viewers across the world, is awaiting audience reaction to Inji Idupazhagi, which is releasing on November 27.
The posters and trailer show an overweight Anushka stuck in comical and heavy situations. “The film rambles around a girl, Soundarya aka Sweety, who encounters problems find the right groom because she is overweight. Her mother, played by Urvashi, is eagerly search for the right partner for her, but in vain. That’s because most suitable boys and NRIs that she encounters prefer a girl of a certain size. The film deals about what this girl goes through as a person, and how she rambles this issue,” said Anushka, when asked about the concept of Size Zero.
Directed by Prakash Kovelamudi, son of the legendary Telugu filmmaker KS Raghavendra Rao, Inji Idupazhagi stars Arya as Abhi, an NRI. In an age where actresses are try to get slimmer, here comes Anushka’s conclusion to put on 20 kilos for a role.
I fell in love with the script. The minute Kanika Kovelamudi (writer) told me the story, I felt a strong connect with the character quick, and I felt every woman will be able to relate to her. I find that people, women in special are very conscious about their weight and appearance. Even before I entered films, and was a Yoga teacher, I saw how much digest people were with their weight. Whether you are a celebrity or not, everyone gets affected by other people’s comments on their appearance. This is because we forget who we really are and concentrate on our appearance alone. This film seeks to highlight that your beauty lies in your personality and is not demarcated by your appearance.
Anushka feels that peer pressure movies and media re-inforce certain notions of beauty that add to the problem. “Everyone, no matter how their appearance is, has someone who loves them. That reinforces the fact that beauty is about who you are as a person, and not how you look. But people are forget this. Magazines and movies add to the notion that being slim alone is beautiful. People are becoming so obsessed with looks, that even if they exercise, it is to please their parents or partners. They don’t do it because being fit is good for health. Somewhere along the way, they forget who they really are. Almost every girl encounters a bad hair day or days when the clothes don’t fit or the skin breaks out. And people are quick to comment on these things! In fact, actors encounter it more! Each of us has different ways of dealing with it. Some go on the defensive; some go into tension or withdraw. The film is the story of one such girl and how she deals with her problems.
We did a photoshoot with prosthetics but I felt that though my body looked fat, my arms and face looked leaner. I felt that imbalance would not look good on screen and decided to do it the natural way by piling on the kilos.
I mostly ate rice and homemade food, but in larger magnitude than usual,” she replied. “It’s not just about putting on the weight in any way possible. I didn’t want to eat anything that may harm my body from within and cause health problems later. So I avoid fried and oily foods and junk food. Plus, I knew I had to also lose it later. So, I ate with caution and under supervision.
Putting on 20 kilos extra led to shoulder, leg and wrist pain for Anushka, but it’s been well worth it. I enjoyed every bit of playing Soundarya and I hope viewers connect with her too. This is a film I am proud to be a part of.
She is thankful to her co-star and good friend Arya, for accepting to play the male lead in a woman-centric film. This is our second film together after Irandam Ulagam. Actors don’t easily agree to do scripts like these. He granted gracefully that the film is centered around Sweety.
