Actor Imran Khan, who has been away from films, has been active on Instagram since the last couple of months. He is back on Instagram after almost five years and has been sharing several anecdotes from his initial days in the Hindi film industry. A few days back, Imran stated that he is looking back at the past and trying to reshape his relationship with his films.
On Friday (October 6), Imran shared his throwback pictures on Instagram and made some revelations. He admitted he took steroids to bulk up after his first film and revealed that he was told 'heroines look bigger than you'.
Imran penned a long caption and revealed he was always 'skinny'. "I didn't need to be muscular to play Jai Singh Rathore (his character in Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na)... but I was convinced that I was too skinny, which is why Jai mostly wears two layers of clothing throughout Jaane Tu. For my next film, Kidnap, I hit the gym in earnest, and began my journey with body building," he wrote.
"Over the next few years, the sculpting and maintenance of my body became part of my lifestyle. I worked out regularly, but still I would hear 'So... you'll bulk up a bit before we start shooting, right?'; 'You're looking weak', 'You look like a little boy, not a man", and "The heroine looks bigger than you' (ouch for both of us!). In hindsight, I think I looked fine... but at the time, I felt insecure. I wanted a powerful, heroic physique. So I tried harder," Imran added.
He further opened up about taking steroids to bulk up. Imran added, "Exercise means nothing without nutrition; 6 meals a day, totalling 4000 calories. Chicken breast, egg whites, sweet potato, oats, flax seeds... all good stuff, but still not enough to make my biceps look like the heroes I saw onscreen. No, for that I needed to supplement with whey protein, creatine, leucine, glutamine, L-carnitine... and ultimately, even anabolic steroids. Shock and horror! We're not supposed to admit that part out loud, it could totally ruin the illusion."
The actor also said that in recent years, as he battled depression and stopped working out, he became skinnier. "When I was photographed, it sparked a media discussion about my wellbeing, and speculations of drug abuse! I felt deeply ashamed, embarrassed to be seen by anyone in this state. So I retreated further. It's been an uphill journey, but these days I'm doing better than ever; I exercise with my old friend who puts my health first and only feeds me supplements like walnuts and turmeric... seriously. And while I'm still a tad jealous of those dudes with superhero muscles... I don't feel bad about myself," Imran concluded.
