Bikram Saluja playing character based on Anil Ambani

Bikram Saluja's character is based on the Reliance honcho

Patli Gully: Bikram Saluja goes from fat to thin in 42 Kms and (inset) Anil Ambani

Bikram Saluja's character is based on the Reliance honcho

During an early annual general meeting, a Reliance shareholder had quipped that he was not worried about the company's health, but about the condition of the people behind it. This was because Anil Ambani was once overweight.

In a television interview, Ambani had stated that while dealing with foreign investors some years ago, when he was fat, one of them had questioned him: 'How can we trust you with our money when you cannot even take care of your own health?'u00a0This had kick-started Ambani's quest to lose weight and take to running as an exercise and ultimately to participate in marathons.
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Weight and watch

In debutant Nisha Chainani's 42 Kms, which releases on January 23, Bikram Saluja's character is inspired by what happened to Ambani and his weight.

Says Chainani, "I used to take part in hash runs in the city and would keep on hearing about his weight loss and what motivated him. The hash runs would involve running for six kilometres every Sunday followed by beer, lunch and the Ambani story!"

Proving grounds

Chainani, a former assistant of Rakesh Roshan, has modelled Saluja's character on the Reliance head honcho. He essays a business tycoon who has to get as fit as his investor. As a result he has to run the marathon to prove to his investors that they are in good hands.

"42 Kms has the marathon in the backdrop and has a bunch of characters who are participating for their own reasons. After hearing all the Ambani stories, I had to incorporate his saga into the script," points out Chainani.
For his part, Saluja had to undergo elaborate makeup sessions that took hours. "We have shown him initially as obese and then in ship-shape. We had to pad up his body and then apply a skin coat... you can say that is camera magic!"

The cast of 42 Kms includes Mandira Bedi, Sammir Dattani, Purab Kohli, Prashant Chainani, Nausheen Ali Sardar and Nauheed Cyrusi.