Matinee bodies

Film stars fitness regimen is now a key part of the marketing of a new film.

The last time a Bond movie released, much was made of the new Bond’s body. Daniel Craig as James Bond in his first outing in that iconic role in Casino Royale was as much about his perfect physique as it was his ability to imbue the role with a new rawness that hadn’t been seen in the character for a long time. Now Craig’s second film as Bond in Quantum of Solace is out in theatres and the famed Craig body is still intact.

Film stars both in Hollywood and Bollywood have in the recent past while promoting their new films talked as much about how they got a particular kind of physique as they did about their role. Craig, for instance, shared details about how he got that swimsuit-worthy body of his for Royale. John Abraham’s trainer for the to-be-released film Dostana has been interviewed at length how he helped Abraham, already one of Bollywood’s fitter heroes, to get an even better body.

Aamir Khan, ever the perfectionist, has also in the past shared his diet plan and exercise regimen to develop a certain body type to suit a certain role. More recently, he has spoken of how he worked out for his lead role in the film Gajhani which required a very muscled look.

And, of course, Shah Rukh Khan’s six-pack-abs for the hit film Om Shanti Om were covered extensively in the media. Once upon a time it was the item song that was expected to pull in the crowds, now the well worked-out body of the heroes, prominently on display is turning out to be a marketing initiative that film producers are hoping would bring in the crowds into theatres.

While this time round Craig hasn’t been put in swimming trunks, fans of the actor look eagerly towards him for fitness tips. For a Bond body, says Craig, he works out for only an hour a day, five days a week, only to get wasted on the weekend.

His philosophy: why work-out if you can’t abuse your body once in a while. A piece of advice which many, and not just die-hard Bond fans, will hope works for them as well as it has for Craig. Getting six-pack abs no longer means abstaining from a six-pack of chilled beer.