© The Tribe

#HELLOExpertGuide Ft. Karan Sawhney (Of ‘The Tribe’) | How To Train A Bollywood Celebrity For An Action Movie

Salva Mubarak
Senior Features Writer

While the action sequences that Bollywood celebrities regularly pull off in their movies might look effortless on-screen, it’s actually preceded by months and months of rigorous training.

Case in point, Kriti Sanon who is gearing up to appear on-screen in full-blown action mode, opposite Tiger Shroff in Ganpath Part 1, and is putting in hours at the gym to execute the tough action sequences the movie promises.

One-third of the fitness collective, The Tribe, which is responsible for Sanon’s transformation, Karan Sawhney reveals that the actress has upped her usual workout levels for the movie. “We have her on a six-week program called the ‘French Contrast Training’ and is doing only and only that for this duration,” says Sawhney, referring to the rigorous strength training regime which would result in her movements seeming more powerful and explosive. “We’re mixing a lot of strength training and explosive movements. There’s a little bit of cardio and a lot of core exercises as well, so in the movie, her actions would look natural,” he says.

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According to Sawhney, this training method also helps in altering the physical form in a more effective way, “This is strength training where we’re connecting to the core, and the results are two to three times better than the results you’ll see with regular training. This method also improves muscle definition and the power she would be generating while doing those action scenes. The kind of training that we’re doing right now requires her to lift slightly heavier weight than what she usually does. For example, she has gone to around 120-130 pounds and we’re slowly increasing that as well.”

Kriti Sanon working out with The Tribe©The Tribe

Is it hard to maintain her motivation levels, one wonders, especially when she is busy promoting, and shooting, new films at the same time? Turns out it is, but Sawhney explains that this is one thing he had ensured Sanon knew from the outset. “I told her the first day that you’re not going to be motivated every day for the next few months, but even on days when you don’t feel like coming, you HAVE to show up. So it’s ultimately about discipline over motivation,” he says, “I’ve told her that she has to stay consistent if she wants results and that she should focus on her diet and rest schedule as well. Since she’s a celebrity and her schedule is already hectic, I told her that she has to still make time to work out regularly. And she’s been doing that, even on days when she has to pull a 12 or 14-hour shift, she still takes out an hour to workout.”

Kriti Sanon training with The Tribe©The Tribe

So if you were a fly on the wall of Sanon’s gym, you would see the actress showing up every day to work on her endurance and flexibility (as Hardy Sandhu’s ‘Bijlee Bijlee’ plays from the speakers, we’re told on good authority) and over time, shape up into an action star in her own right.