Exclusive: Ahaan Panday's Trainer Azhar Shaikh Reveals How The Saiyaara Star Got His Six-Pack Abs

Saiyaara vaulted Ahaan Panday from a promising debutant to a bona fide breakout star, and it took a team to make that happen. Ahaan Panday's nailed the intense portrayal of a brokenhearted rockstar Krish Kapoor in Saiyaara, but it would not have been possible had he not looked the part. For that, Ahaan Panday underwent a 360 degree transformation with the help of his fitness trainer, Azhar Zaheer Shaikh. 

With nearly two decades of experience in the fitness industry, trainer Azhar Shaikh has built a loyal clientele, but this was his first time training an actor. In this exclusive interview with NDTV, Azhar says, "Ahaan had promised me that he would call me when he needed training for his debut movie, and he kept his promise."

For the Mumbai-based trainer, that phone call was nothing short of life changing. "When people say Azhar is behind Ahaan Panday's transformation, I will feel happy and proud at the same time."

Ahaan Panday and Azhar Shaikh training on the sets of Saiyaara. Photo: Azhar Shaikh

Ahaan Panday's Transformation For Saiyaara

Azhar began working with Ahaan ahead of his debut movie Saiyaara alongside Aneet Padda, who played songwriter battling early-onset Alzheimer's Vaani Batra in the film.

When he started training for the movie, Ahaan was on the bulkier side. The challenge was to achieve a lean and camera-ready physique in a limited timeframe, said Azhar, adding that the goal was to drop around 8–9 kg while redefining abs within 40–45 days.

"We trained for 2 hours a day before shooting for Saiyaara began. Our target was to make him look lean and ripped, which was the requirement for the role. The timing of the workouts varied because of his shoot schedule.

"Ahaan would sometimes leave home at 4 in the morning for training, sometimes he would squeeze in workouts during short breaks on set. These are the challenges that made the journey memorable," Azhar recalled.

Ahaan Panday's Transformation Through The Movie

Since Saiyaara demanded different looks across sequences, Azhar had to work with Ahaan to achieve the right look for each sequence in the movie:

• Saiyaara's First-Half: The first half of the movie required the actor to have a sculpted body with six-pack abs, for which Ahaan lost around 8-9 kg of weight, recalls the trainer.
• Manali sequence: Saiyaara director Mohit Suri wanted Ahaan to have a fuller frame for the sequence where months pass by while his character Krish searches for Aneet's Vaani in the movie. For the same, Azhar and the team helped him gain 4 kg in 10 days by increasing his calorie intake.
• Wedding sequence: Ahaan had to lose weight for the final scene of the movie, where Krish and Vaani get married. Azhar shares that the actor lost the extra weight naturally and quickly.

Ahaan Panday's Fitness Routine

• His days started with fat-burning cardio to boost his metabolism.
• Ahaan's workouts included strength training, which comprised working on his chest, triceps, biceps, shoulders, back, and legs.
• Core exercises for toned abs - 300 reps minimum while maintaining proper form.
• His fitness routine also included functional strength training that helped build endurance and MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) to improve reflexes and improve body control.
• High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) was also an integral part of Ahaan's fitness routine.

Ahaan Panday's Diet Routine

• Azhar shares, "Ahaan's diet included low-carb, high-protein foods. He would eat 30 eggs a day, scaled to his schedule and tolerance. Boiled chicken was also a part of his diet."
• Hydration is key to stay fit and healthy, and Azhar ensured Ahaan was consuming at least 4 litre of liquids every day. These included water and electrolytes to keep him going.
• Vitamins and minerals were also part of his diet.
• Salt intake was reduced to avoid water retention on shoot days.

Ahaan's mother, wellness expert Deanne Panday, played a key role in trusting him to guide her son's fitness journey. "She supported me by coordinating with the cook to make sure Ahaan was following his diet. During the last three months of the shoot, Ahaan was only eating what was given to him without any complaints."

Ahaan Panday's Sleeping Routine

"Ahaan's sleep schedule was bad with his busy shooting schedules, but he had to take time to sleep for his body to recover," shared the trainer.

"He managed his rest time, whether it was sleeping in his vanity van or the car while travelling. Rest is important for building a body, and a minimum of 5 hours of sleep was important for Ahaan at the time. We can't go below five hours of rest. You can't work out if you don't take adequate rest," Azhar added.

Training Celebrities Goes Beyond Glamour

Azhar, who runs Azhaar Fitness Center in Thane, Mumbai, shares that Saiyaara was the golden moment of his life, but he insists that the process of training an actor is far from glamorous. From erratic schedules and shooting days that run up to 15 hours, maintaining peak fitness requires a lot of planning.

"Celebrity training is a completely different journey. People think working with actors is only about glamour, but in reality, it is very tough. My 20 years of experience is on one side and the demands of a particular role of an actor are totally different," shares the trainer.

Azhar notes that it can be a rollercoaster journey, so the trainer has to read the room while writing the plan: pushing when the actor's energy is up and backing off when it dips.

Trainer Azhar Shaikh shares Ahaan Panday's fitness secrets. Photo: Azhar Shaikh

Challenges Ahaan Panday Faced

Regardless of what the schedule was, Ahaan was determined. "At times, Ahaan would say 'It's not working out', but then he would say, 'No, I'll do it'. And that made me feel good, that motivated me to push him further."

Sharing how they used to make time to squeeze in the workouts even between the shoots, Azhar says, "At times it was challenging, but we did it anyway. We would sometimes go to the gym at 4 am because he'd have to shoot for 15 hours. He'd at least work out for half an hour, a steam bath, do some cardio."

The fitness trainer also shares that there was little time and so much to do. "We used to train at midnight, sometimes 1 am but we were still able to complete it. The transformation happened in those 40-45 days. The days after that were for maintenance during the shooting," he added.

"Due to his busy schedule, Ahaan would sometimes be low on energy, but he worked out for his role. Sometimes at night, if he had a craving, he would call me at 2 AM to ask what he could or couldn't eat. He was extremely disciplined during his transformation period. With hard work and dedication, we achieved the result," shared Azhar.

Azhar believes that discipline, not motivation, defines long-term fitness. He recalls moments when Ahaan struggled with low energy due to a low-carb diet or late-night cravings. But through consistency and focus, the actor pushed through to get a six-pack ab.