Akshay Oberoi: I seek validation from audiences for my work not the way how I look

Akshay Oberoi’s focus for last few months seems to be on his health and the results are surely incredible. The actor is seen flaunting his chiseled abs in his recent Instagram photos. However, Oberoi asserts that his commitment to fitness is not for the “physical appeal”.

He explains, “As actors our work is very physically intensive.The conditions on a set are not always the most prime. Weather conditions can be rough, hours can be long, you’re on your feet for a long time. It’s a it’s a physical job, and I want to be as healthy and as fit and as energetic as I possibly can. I always joke, ki hum actor mazdoor log hain and in a way we are. That’s why, my reason for undergoing this transformation is primarily to feel good, healthy and to have energy and stamina. So a large part of my commitment to fitness is not for the physical appeal. It’s to be genuinely healthy.”

Besides intense workout, what works well for the actor is intermittent fasting. Oberoi says. though intermittent fasting is a new fad, he has always preferred to eat between a certain window, “Which is generally 12 to 6, and I have two big healthy meals in that time.” And since he been practising this for several years, it really works for the actor. “Having said that, everyone is different. It is not a one size fits all, nothing in the world is a one size fits all. You have to find something that works and is sustainable, because there’s no such thing as a crash diet, ki me 3 maheene ke liye ye karunga aur phir dekha jaaega. It doesn’t work that way. It has to be part of your lifestyle,” he tells us.

Ever since the actor has been posting pictures of his transformed body, his comment section has been flooded with fan comments, who are drolling over it. But Oberoi says he does not need this validation to feel good about himself. “Instagram is part of my job, I have to keep posting and I have to be seen on that platform. Therefore I engage with it. I put things that I think people will like and people will comment on. But was it necessary to feel better about myself? No. I’m not so insecure about how I look and who I am. And that is why it doesn’t really excite me when somebody comes up to me and says, ‘you look really handsome’,” says the actor.

However, validation for his performance is what Oberoi craves for. “An actor works his whole life to get validated by an audience. Day in and day out, they struggle to get that appreciation. However, instead of getting it for my looks and I seek it in terms of my performances in films and web series. That matters a lot. I place my priorities correctly in what I seek validation in,” he ends.