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Mona Singh's drastic physical transformation to play Aamir Khan's mother in Laal Singh Chaddha: 'Had to lose all that weight and look fragile'
When Mona Singh had to adjust her lifestyle and undergo a weight transformation for Aamir Khan's 2022 film, Laal Singh Chaddha.
We, as viewers, don’t know what goes on behind the camera. What is presented to us as a 2 or 3-hour-long movie requires months, if not years, of assiduous effort and often proves to be a debilitating experience for the cast involved. Mona Singh, who initially rose to fame with Sony Entertainment Television’s Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin, has established herself as a versatile actress. She is a household name, thanks to her prolific roles in TV shows and Bollywood movies.
In a recent interview, Mona talked about her experience starring in the film Laal Singh Chaddha and why it is one of the most “challenging” roles she has ever taken up. Her character demanded to “put on and lose weight in stages.”
Mona Singh’s Demanding Role in Laal Singh Chaddha
The 2022 Hindi language film Laal Singh Chaddha starring Aamir Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan in the main roles, is an adaptation of the 1994 blockbuster Forrest Gump. In the movie, Aamir’s character Lal Singh, a man with a low IQ, overcomes formidable hardships to reunite with his childhood sweetheart Rupa (Kareena Kapoor Khan). Mona Singh played the character of Gurpreet Kaur, Lal Singh’s mother, and did an exceptional job.
However, what makes this experience particularly unforgettable for Mona Singh is the complications that came with it. The 43-year-old actress didn’t shy away from sharing that her profession is “demanding,” not only physically but also mentally. She mentions that even though every role she portrays “comes with its own set of challenges,” Laal Singh Chaddha takes the cake. For this movie, she had to undergo extreme physical transformations, gaining and losing weight constantly to portray the different ages of her movie character.
In the first half, she remained thin to portray a young Gurpreet Kaur. In the second half, she had to put on significant weight to portray the character in her 40s in a realistic manner. And towards the end, she had to drop all the weight to look “fragile."
For Mona, the most difficult aspect of her career is “constantly shifting between roles, absorbing energies, and navigating public life.” She advises creating boundaries to protect peace and switching off the mind at times to help it recover. The actress mentions that her friends and family have helped her feel rejuvenated and connected with herself.
Mona is currently juggling between her acting career and her entrepreneurial journey. She is a foodie and has recently ventured into business with her restaurant Kona Kona to celebrate India’s “culinary landscape.” Apart from that, she has some interesting upcoming projects lined up, including Aryan Khan's directorial debut Stardom.
