Randeep Hooda is known to put his hundred percent in each role, and for Sarbjit, the actor literally went out on a limb. Randeep played the role of Sarbjit, an Indian national who was detained in Pakistan for 23 years. To portray someone who had been imprisoned for 23 years, Randeep didn’t just have to undergo a drastic weight loss, but also get into the right headspace to be able to portray the character right.

On 4th Anniversary of the film, Randeep shared his look from the film, and recalled the experience almost took life out of him

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Randeep lost 18 kgs in just 28 days and this transformation left the entire industry stunned. He went on a strict diet supervised by his sister Dr Anjali Hooda-Sangwan which allowed him only 500-600 calories per day, with a few cheat days where he was allowed starch. Proteins and greens constituted the major part of his diet. “I was a muscular 94 kg at the time and while it’s easy to burn fat, it’s hard to lose muscle. The lack of sugar almost drove me crazy. I was thinking about food all the time, there were days when I was so hungry, I couldn’t sleep. There came a point when I wasn’t even allowed an apple and was so emaciated I could barely walk”, Randeep had stated in an interview.

The gloom of the reality of Sarbjit’s life also rubbed off the Randeep’s personality. “I had to keep telling myself, that ‘look, you did not go through 23 years of your life in prison, you did not go through all that hardship, you did not go through solitary confinement” to deal keep the reel life away from real.

His performance was applauded by the audience and critics alike and is one of the best examples of method acting.