Swatantrya Veer Savarkar producer says Randeep Hooda lost 26 kgs, ate only a date and one glass of milk during shoot

Randeep Hooda makes his directorial debut with the biopic Swatantrya Veer Savarkar. The film is expected to release in theatres later this year. The biopic’s producer Anand Pandit revealed how dedicated Randeep was to the part. The actor lost around 26 kgs for the role, and ate one date and had one glass of milk during shooting as several of his scenes were filmed in a prison. (Also read: Swatantrya Veer Savarkar teaser: Randeep Hooda turns freedom fighter who inspired Subhash Chandra Bose)

Randeep stepped as director

Earlier, director Mahesh Manjrekar was helming the project but he had to leave because of date issues. Anand then asked Randeep if he would like to take it up as he was already so involved in the biopic. Besides headlining the project, Randeep has also produced and co-written the screenplay and dialogues as well with Utkarsh Naithani.

His diet for the film shoot

In an interview with ETimes, producer Anand Pandit revealed Randeep’s commitment to the project, “He was so involved in the character and till date is. To essay it on the screen, he said that he won’t leave any stone unturned. He had only 1 khajoor (date) and 1 glass of milk for 4 months until the shooting got over.”

He added, “He even shaved off his hair at exactly the same portions where Veer Savarkar had no hair.” The biopic also stars Ankita Lokhande and Amit Sial. The film’s teaser was launched on Sunday for the 140th birth anniversary of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.

Randeep’s film debut

The actor made his debut in 2001 with Mira Nair’s critically acclaimed and award-winning film Monsoon Wedding. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival that year. The ensemble cast also included Naseeruddin Shah, Lillete Dubey, Shefali Shah, Vasundhara Das, Vijay Raaz, Tillotama Shome, Parvin Dabas and Rajat Kapoor.

Randeep’s last film was the Salman Khan-starrer Radhe in 2021. He made his OTT debut last year with the Netflix drama CAT. Recently, he was seen in the Jio Cinema series, Inspector Avinash as supercop Avinash Mishra. The series is set in the late 1990s and is based on the true life adventures of Uttar Pradesh police officer Avinash Mishra who challenged the arms mafia. The actor also has the rom-com Tera Kya Hoga Lovely with Ileana D’Cruz awaiting release.