‘Aditya Chopra Asked Me To Be Toned, Get Rid Of My Love Handles’: Tanishaa Mukerji

Actress Tanishaa Mukerji recently opened up about the physical transformation she underwent for the 2005 film Neal ‘n’ Nikki and revealed that the intense fitness routine eventually led to hormonal imbalance issues.

What’s Happening

• Tanishaa, who is the daughter of veteran actress Tanuja and sister of Bollywood star Kajol, spoke about her experience during a conversation with Mamaraazzi. 
• The actress recalled how filmmaker Aditya Chopra wanted her to completely transform her appearance for the film.
• Sharing details about the casting process, Tanishaa said she was called for a screen test despite already having worked in films before. 
• She also revealed that Aditya Chopra had previously given her career advice, which she had not followed at the time. However, for this film, she decided to trust his guidance completely.
• Talking about her first look test for the film, she said, “My first photo session for Neal ‘n’ Nikki, I had all these love handles and he was like, ‘No, you can’t look like this. You need to be toned.’ After that first photo session, I just went crazy and I transformd my body because I was so focused on reaching that ultimate goal and then he was like, ‘Yes, this is Nikki’.”
• The actress further shared that she became extremely disciplined with her workout and diet routine while preparing for the role. 
• However, maintaining such a strict lifestyle eventually affected her health.
• Speaking about the impact it had on her body, Tanishaa said that once she found the right combination of diet and exercise, she followed it rigorously. But she admitted that it became difficult to sustain for a long period.
• She explained that “if you try to keep it, you would have a hormonal imbalance, which is what happened to me.”

Background

Directed by Arjun Sablok, Neal ‘n’ Nikki starred Tanishaa opposite Uday Chopra. The film, produced under the banner of Yash Raj Films, received criticism upon its release in 2005.

Looking back at the film’s reception, Tanishaa said she did not take the criticism personally and instead tried to understand the audience’s reaction positively.

“Because I was like, ‘Why did the audience feel like this?’ I went back and I saw the film. I am very objective about myself,” she said.

The actress also admitted that while she was satisfied with her performance at the time, she now feels she could have done some scenes differently. “The audience has every right to criticise,” she added.

Tanishaa further spoke about the responsibilities of a director in shaping a film and said she never blamed herself for Neal ‘n’ Nikki’s failure.

“An actor will only push themselves as far as the director will allow them. An actor will only do what a director demands of them. The actor has limitations. It is up to the director to transform the scene with the camera, lighting… You have so many things that you can use. Every actor has their limitations, it is about the director using that to their advantage,” she said.

Tanishaa was last seen in the 2024 film Luv You Shankar.