Actor Vivaan Shah, known for his latest film “Ikkis,” revealed that he had to “consciously work on looking more mature” for his role in this war drama featuring Agastya Nanda and the late star Dharmendra.
Transformation for the Role
Speaking about his transformation, Vivaan stated, “For this role, I had to consciously work on looking more mature. Interestingly, just before Ikkis, I was shooting for another project where I had to appear much younger than my actual age.”
However, the shift was significant when “Ikkis” came his way last August. “I had to do the complete opposite—build myself up and look more muscular,” he added.
Training Regimen
The actor, son of acclaimed star Naseeruddin Shah, shared that his first step was to start lifting weights. “I hadn’t touched weights for almost a year, so I shifted to an entirely different workout regime focused on strength training, aiming for a slightly more military-style physique,” he explained.
Vivaan acknowledged that such a transformation takes years to perfect but credited the film’s physical training schedule for aiding him immensely. “The training we did in Ahmednagar made a huge difference. We went through a basic boot camp with drills and PT, which helped immensely,” he noted.
Challenging Shoot Experience
He also spoke about the demanding nature of the shoot, emphasizing that handling tanks and performing physically challenging scenes contributed depth to his performance. “The tank training was especially memorable—we even got to drive the tanks ourselves,” he concluded.
About “Ikkis”
“Ikkis” is directed by Sriram Raghavan and features Jaideep Ahlawat and Simar Bhatia. The film is based on the life of Arun Khetarpal, the youngest recipient of the Param Vir Chakra award, and is centered around the Battle of Basantar during the 1971 India-Pakistan War. The title refers to the age at which Arun Khetarpal attained martyrdom.