Gym Nausea

Aftab Shivdasani is looking a bit like a beached whale these days.

Aftab Shivdasani is looking a bit like a beached whale these days. The actor with the gummy smile used to sport a toned physique till recently, but those close to him say the failure of his career has led him to depression. He hasn’t hit the gym for months now, and much of the muscle has turned into fat. So conscious was he of this fact that he reportedly turned down a lucrative offer to participate in the last season of Khatron Ke Khiladi recently. The channel offered him Rs 20 lakh per episode initially, then hiked their offer to Rs 30 lakh, finally rounding it off at Rs 40 lakh, but Aftab firmly resisted. He was embarrassed about participating in a high-adrenalin, stunts-heavy television show while he was so out of shape. He’s believed to have confided in friends that he didn’t have the confidence he’d last even the first round, and felt no amount of money was worth humiliating himself publicly.

But an offer to be the face of a prominent international after-shave brand may have finally given the actor the encouragement he needed to hit the treadmill again. Aftab is committed to launching a masculine fragrance, and although the fee is only reasonable, he’s excited because of the exposure it’s likely to grant him. In return for the half-dozen or so hoardings of the ad-campaign featuring the star that will be put up across the country, Aftab has, apparently, been asked to make a shirtless entry at the brand’s launch party.

With no films whatsoever on the anvil, he has no excuse for staying away from the gym now!