Director Prashanth Neel recently revealed that Telugu actor Jr NTR went “berserk” to play the role of an assassin in his latest film, Dragon, and embarked on a massive spree. “A year and a half back, we were ready to film, and we did a look with him. I just went up to him and told him that if you became thinner for the role of the assassin, it would help. There is this Chinese saying, ‘beware of what you wish for,’ and he became unstoppable. After that, he didn’t shoot for the next 4 months, and he achieved…he lost about 15 kilos at one point in time, and I asked him to stop many times in between because he started looking frail and became paler. But he didn’t stop. He said he said for the story that you are writing, I want you to get what you envisioned.”
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The director continued, “And he just went…his wife was upset with me. His mother was upset with me. All his friends were upset with me. Everybody who knew him was upset with me. My whole team was upset with me. But I told him that that was not my doing. I just told him to lose a little weight, and he went berserk about it. He’s that sort of person, you know. It’s very difficult not to if he’s convinced of something, it’s very difficult to get him out of that. Right? That’s stubbornness that I have not seen in anybody else. You know, he just said that’s what you want. You want my cheeks to go down. You want my body to be leaner. Want me to look like an assassin who has trained in Afghanistan? I will do it. And we spent the next four months looking at him suffer, and he suffered a lot because somebody who has to lose about 15-16 kilos in just a space of you know, a few months. The first two months, he had lost so much weight that everybody was worried.”
Reiterating Jr NTR’s commitment, he told Galatta Plus: “But he didn’t stop. He absolutely didn’t stop, and we were very worried. All the blame was put on me. It was on social media. It was everywhere that he had some illness, and he was not happy or something like that. I don’t know what it was, but he’s the true mad, really mad man that I’ve seen. He called his trainer. The moment I went and told him this, I think I discussed this with him at 7:00 in the evening, he called his trainer. He was there at 7:30, and the next morning, he started his routine, and we had to postpone our shoot by a few months, but we were more than happy at the end of the day with the result.”
This once again highlights the intense physical transformations actors often undergo. “While such results may appear dramatic on screen, the process behind them usually involves , disciplined workouts, and strict lifestyle regulation,” said consultant dietitian and fitness expert Garima Goyal.
From a clinical perspective, Goyal described that losing 15 kg in four months falls into a relatively aggressive weight-loss range, depending on the individual’s starting weight and body composition. “Such transformations are generally achieved through a combination of calorie control, high-protein diets, resistance training, cardio, and close monitoring,” said Goyal.
One of the most important factors in rapid weight loss is preserving lean muscle mass while reducing fat. “This is why high-protein intake and strength training become essential. Without adequate protein and resistance exercise, rapid weight loss may lead to muscle breakdown, weakness, and metabolic slowdown.”
Another major aspect is structured consistency. “Celebrity transformations often involve fixed meal timings, supervised workouts, controlled sleep schedules, and minimal dietary deviation. The visible result is not usually from one secret diet, but from sustained discipline over several months,” said Goyal.
However, clinically speaking, extreme or rapid transformations are not always suitable for the general public. “Aggressive calorie deficits, excessive cardio, or restrictive eating patterns can impact hormonal health, recovery, energy levels, and mental well-being if not managed properly,” cautioned Goyal.
It is also important to understand that transformations for film roles are often designed for a specific visual outcome within a deadline, not necessarily as long-term sustainable . “What this transformation really reflects is the power of structure and consistency. Not shortcuts or magic solutions,” said Goyal.
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