Kartik Aaryan is ‘PR ka baap’, says Alia Bhatt’s half-brother Rahul, admits they ‘didn’t get along’ initially | Bollywood News

Kartik Aaryan blew everyone away with his dramatic physical transformation in Kabir Khan’s period sports drama Chandu Champion. He not only got ripped, but also played a professional boxer and swimmer effortlessly on screen. Dilmmaker Mahesh Bhatt’s son Rahul, who works as a fitness coach, had trained him for over two years for the part. “He didn’t have any foundation in strength training. He also had to do boxing, which is a different skill set. He also had to swimming. So it was a tough thing he pulled off. He’s not an athlete. He’s not Tiger (Shroff) or one of those guys. But he pulled it off,” said Rahul, in an interview with Hindi Rush. He also admitted that they didn’t start off on a good note.
“He’d doubt me a little in the beginning. I didn’t get along with him, like say I did with Aamir (Khan). You have to get along in this business. You have to surrender to your coach. That comfort has to be there,” said Rahul. But he clarified that Kartik may have had trust issues with him initially, he continued to be a thorough professional.
“He was very respectful, very punctual, a thorough professional again. There are a lot of things I’ve learnt from him, like self-promotion. Baap ka baap hai, dadaji hai, ye sab cheez mein (he aces the PR game). But I can’t do what he can. Only he can do it. That’s what it takes to be a movie star in today’s time. If that’s what it takes, then I’m not fit to be anything. I’m fit to be a pehelwan (bodybuilder) only,” added Rahul.
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Rahul is Mahesh’s only son, from his first marriage with Kiran Bhatt. Pooja Bhatt is his ser, whereas Alia Bhatt and Shaheen Bhatt are his step-sers from Mahesh’s second marriage with Soni Razdan. Besides being a physical trainer, Rahul is best known as a contestant on the reality show Bigg Boss 4, the first season hosted Salman Khan.
Rahul also famously trained Aamir Khan for his ‘Fat to Fit’ transformation in Nitesh Tiwari’s 2016 blockbuster wrestling drama Dangal. Aamir played a 50+-year-old father to four daughters in the film, for which he gained a lot of kilos. He then shed all of it to get in shape for a brief wrestling sequence as a young wrestler at the start of the film.
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More recently, Rahul also trained Ali Fazal for his beefed up look in Prime Video India’s gangster show Mirzapur. “Excel Entertainment came to me with the brief that he’s playing a bodybuilder, who’s also a gangster. He trained well. Unfortunately, he also sustained a few injuries,” said Rahul.