Imran Khan was told heroines look ‘bigger’ than him; took steroids to bulk up

Mumbai : Former actor Imran Khan, who is known for his works in ‘Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na’, ‘Delhi Belly’, ‘Once Upon a Time in Mumbai Dobaara’, among others, has opened up on how he felt ‘insecure’ about his physique, and talked about his uphill fitness journey.

Taking to Instagram, shared a string of pictures, wherein he is showing his upper body part with stitch marks on it. The second picture is a collage in which he is flaunting his muscular back, while the last click shows him candidly waving at the cameras.

Along with the photos, Imran penned a long note, which read as: “I’ve always been skinny. I’m one of those hyper-metabolic people, my body just burns through whatever I consume. Oh no, what a terrible affliction! In my late teens, guys around me started joining gyms and working out. They started to expand, their biceps stretching the sleeves of their t-shirts. I wore a size S, and my sleeves were still loose.”

“I didn’t need to be muscular to play Jai Singh Rathore…. but I was convinced that I was too skinny, which is why Jai mostly wears two layers of clothing throughout ‘Jaane Tu’. For my next film, ‘Kidnap’, I hit the gym in earnest, and began my journey with body building,” he said.

Imran shared: “Over the next few years, the sculpting and maintenance of my body became part of my lifestyle. I worked out regularly, but still I would hear ‘So.. you’ll bulk up a bit before we start shooting, right?’, ‘You’re looking weak’, ‘You look like a littleboy, not a man’, and ‘The heroine looks bigger thanyou’ (ouch for both of us!).”

“In hindsight, I think I looked fine… but at the time, I felt insecure. I wanted a powerful, heroic physique. So I tried harder. Exercise means nothing without nutrition; 6 meals a day, totalling 4000 calories. Chicken breast, egg whites, sweet potato, oats, flax seeds… all good stuff, but still not enough to make my biceps look like the heroes I saw on screen. No, for that I needed to supplement with whey protein, creatine, leucine, glutamine, L-carnitine… and ultimately, even anabolic steroids. Shock and horror! We’re not supposed to admit that part out loud, it could totally ruin the illusion,” he shared.

Further talking about his mental health, Imran said: “In recent years, as I battled depression and stopped working out, I became skinnier than I’d ever been. When I was photographed, it sparked a media discussion about my well being, and speculations of drug abuse! I felt deeply ashamed, embarrassed to be seen by anyone in this state. So I retreated further.”

“It’s been an uphill journey, but these days I’m doing better than ever; I exercise with my old friend @tokastraining who puts my health first and only feeds me supplements like walnuts and turmeric… seriously. And while I’m still a tad jealous of those dudes with superhero muscles… I don’t feel bad about myself,” he added.

A fan commented on the post and said: “Don’t you get tired of being this REAL? I mean when the world revolves around superficial things, how do you manage to not keep up?”

To this, Imran replied: “@am_his_forever you know what’s funny? This is actually really easy for me. It’s not half as scary as the dark places I’ve been in.”

Actor Akshay Oberoi said: “Respect for that truth bomb”.

Shruti Seth said: “Thank you for the honesty”.