Gippy Garewal On Gaining And Losing 20 Kgs For Iconic Role
Punjabi superstar Gippy Garewal is gearing up for the release of the most important film of his career.
To play Subedaar Joginder Singh who fought off the Chinese invaders during the 1962 Indo-China war, Gippy went through drastic physical and emotional changes. “It was by far the most difficult role of my career so far. I had to gain 20 kilos to look like Subedaar Joginder Singh.And then I had to lose it all for my next film Carry On Jatta 2, all within a few months.”
Gippy says the effort was all worth his while. “The story of this amazing man had to be told to the world.And I am honoured to be taking his story to the world. I am ashamed to say I didn’t know who Subedaar Joginder Singh was when I was offered the role. Then I began reading up on him. I got to know he was a Paramvir Chakra winner and his valour during the Indo-China war left me humbled and proud. I was blown away.A hero like Subedaar Joginder Singh comes along once in a bluemoon. To play him is a privilege.”
Luckily for Gippy gaining and losing all that weight was the least of his problems. “I can easily lost weight. But I can’t gain weight that easily. So my problems came before I started shooting for Subedaar Joginder Singh.After the shooting I had no difficulty losing weight.But I had a tough time getting out of the skin and mind of that brave soldier who gave up his life for our country and to get into the fun-and-games mode of Carry On Jatta 2. I had to take time off for a few days to leave Subedaar Joginder Singh behind.He is someone I don’t want to forget.”
Gippy prepares to release his most ambitious film in Punjabi and a dubbed Hindi version. “The message of Suberdaar JoginderSingh’s valour must reach to the farthest places possible,” Gippy asserts. “We are releasing the music in New York in alliance with a Sikh association and then we’re heading to Canada to promote the film.I’ll be back in time to release the film in India on April 6.”
