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Priyanka Chopra's transformation

Will she be able to pack in a punch like her Hollywood counterpart Hilary Swank, who played a boxer in Million Dollar Baby.

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Priyanka Chopra likes to do her own action sequences herself. For Drona, she went through extensive training and learnt the Sikh martial arts form. For Don, she trained in martial arts. For the next, a biopic on the Olympics medal winning boxer Mangte Chungneijang Merykom or Mary Kom, she will have to outdo all her previous attempts. Here’s looking at Hollywood star Hilary Swank who won an Oscar for the role as a boxer, Maggie Fitzgerald, in Million Dollar Baby and what PC will have to do to transform into the role of a real-life boxer.

The Time Factor

Swank was given three months to not only perfect her moves, but also sport a body like a professional boxer.

PC has three months in all. But just one month will be fully dedicated for the prep. She has to learn how to box, and mould her body into the guise of someone who has spent her whole life training. The actress will also spend time with Mary at her home in Manipur to pick up nuances.

The Training
Swank trained for two-and-a-half hours (boxing with heavy bag and speed bag) and an hour-and-a-half hours (weight training) with her personal trainer, Grant Roberts. Her trainer would make her push an SUV in neutral gear to train her legs. At the end of her three-month rigorous regime, Swank gained 19 pounds of muscle.

For Priyanka, the filmmakers have roped in Sameer Johal (who trained Farhan Akhtar in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag) and Chak De! India action director Rob Miller to help her get adept in the boxing ring sequences. PC weighs 54 kg, but she will have to develop muscles for the part. Mary has fought at 46 kg, but has had to adjust to 51 kg for the Olympics.  Mary  trains two-three hours in the morning as well as in the evening. The boxer said in an interview, “My daily routine consists of running early in the morning, skipping and punching and kicking the bag for half hour each.

For my overall physical fitness, I concentrate on all areas of my body. To sharpen my skills I do a bout of sparring or ‘practice fighting’, which is one of the most important training methods in boxing. A boxing match has four rounds, each lasting for two minutes with a 60-second break in between.  I do a lot of brain-eye coordination exercises in order to keep my opponent in place and act fast.”

The Diet

Swank was asked to put on 10 pounds of muscle. A vegetarian for over 18 years, she had to switch to eating non-veg food to build a boxer’s physique. She had to eat 210 grams of protein a day. She consumed about 4,000 calories a day. She had to drink eight to 12 egg whites and snack on protein shakes after every few hours. She had to drink flax oil which contains high levels of Omega-3 fatty acids for her fat intake to balance out the proteins.

PC will have to follow Mary’s diet to resemble her physically. Hilary played a fictitious character but Priyanka has a real life model in front of her, so she has to work not only at getting the physique right, but also the look. PC’s diet will be fairly simple. Just like that of the subject she is gearing up to portray on screen. Says Mary, “I take proper nutrition and balance my diet. I do not indulge in much of spicy foods. Light snacks before practice/exercise and a healthy breakfast after practice is what my daily dietary routine consists of. Lunch at 1-2 pm and dinner at 8-9 pm is what I stick to. I drink lots of juice in order to avoid dehydration. And a glass of milk before going to bed is like a habit for me.

Sleep Pattern
Swank was required to sleep for nine hours because the muscles have to rest in order to build or you actually reverse yourself. But Hilary did have to get up in between to drink her protein shakes as she wasn’t allowed to go very long without eating.

Priyanka, starts shooting the film in June. She will not be shooting any other film at the time, so she can dedicate time to the film and herself. But being disciplined, she will be able to stick to her new eating and sleeping habits with ease. Don’t forget that for this ex-hostess of Fear Factor fear is not an option.

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