NEWS: Akshay to lose weight for 'Thuppakki' remake

Bollywood star Akshay Kumar, with his lean look and super fit physique, would need to lose more weight for his role as an army captain in A.R. Murugadoss's remake of his Tamil hit "Thuppakki". Akshay has been asked to lose seven kgs.

The movie's shooting begins Dec 20, since the Christmas week is considered lucky by Murugadoss.

"He released his 'Ghajini' in December. Since then, Murugadoss has been excessively attached to the Christmas season. He was keen on staring the Hindi 'Thuppakki' in the Christmas week, and Akshay was happy to oblige. The only problem is, he has two weeks to lose at least five kgs, and some more later to play an army captain at least 12 years junior to Akshay's biological age," said a source close to Murugadoss.

Akshay will also sport an army officer's hairdo and look.

"The soldier-hero is never really shown in the army. The drama happens while he's on leave. But we want Akshay to look like a young army jawaan, fit enough to take on the villains. Not only that. We actually want him to look like a real soldier," said Murugadoss.

"He will be getting a crew-cut hair-styling done. We don't want Akshay to look unconvincing as the soldier in any detail," he added.

The demand to lose weight seems strange for a leading man, who is as lean as Akshay.

But Murugadoss explains: "Akshay is one of the fittest heroes in India. But to play the soldier, we want him to be slightly fitter. His shoulders should become more streamlined and his frame should be slimmer. Akshay has the physique for the role. He just needs to lose a little more weight and become slightly sharper around the edges."

For the Tamil film, actor Vijay had actually gone for commando training to play the soldier.

"But Akshay is already into martial arts. So all he needs to do is just polish up his act. He has the know-how and the physical fitness," says the director.

Incidentally for "Ghajini", Aamir Khan had to bulk up and add muscle to his physique to play the self-trained fighter. In "Thuppakki", Akshay goes the other way to get leaner and meaner.