Saif Ali Khan, 42, currently sports an envious physique. Even as he admits that taking off his shirt on screen without good reason is not his forte, he is now more confident than ever about showing off his six packs. Thanking his ‘ Race 2’ co-star John Abraham for making him fully aware of what it means to sport a lean, mean look, Saif says, “Working with John had everyone running off to the gym. Anil Kapoor, John and I spent a lot of time during the making of the film exercising together.” Saif laughs as he recalls Anil’s dilemma towards the end of the film’s schedule in Turkey. Says he, “Anil is older than John and me, but he was there, killing it in the gym even twice a day on occasions. When it was time for Anil to return to Mumbai, he was very depressed about eating kaali dal and rotis at home. It is almost suicidal to eat like that when you are maintaining a good physique. I have eaten at Anil’s home on a couple of occasions and I must say that they eat really well. During the making of this film, all of us felt the pressure of having a social life and going to dinner, as opposed to being lean and fit on screen.” Apart from Saif, Anil and John, the movie also stars Deepika Padukone, Ameesha Patel and Jacqueline Fernandez. Saif, who has learnt to eat just one piece of bread during meals and relish it, says, “Life takes a full turn. As I said in an earlier interview, there was a stage in my younger days when I could knock down a couple of drinks and pack in a few rotis without being too conscious. But that is now a thing of the past. I’ve practically quit smoking and drinking. The irony of life is that in your 20s, you pour out drinks in bars and in your 40s, you hand out diets. That is how it works. If you are on a good diet, it makes you happier, you are so much more positive. You feel light and happy. The trouble is, you may not know what to do with so much energy and positivity. Here I must borrow what Sigmund Freud said. He said, ‘Nations go to war because they do not know how to handle the burden of civilisation’. It is so true. If everything is nice and healthy, then you do not know what to do.” He says, “I also needed to match John’s physical attributes, because the two of us have a hand-to-hand combat in the film. And when it comes to actually being fit, you cannot cheat.” Race 2, produced by Tips Industries Ltd and UTV Motion Pictures, releases on January 25.
