- Shweta Tripathi reflects on her fitness journey, which began after Mirzapur.
- She credits her husband, rapper SlowCheeta, for his support and shared fitness discipline.
- Tripathi will debut as a theatre producer with her play for Pride Month in 2025.
Growing up, Shweta Tripathi didn't like her bureaucrat father regularly asking her a particular question. "Which book are you reading and did you exercise today?" remembers the Mirzapur star. Today, her father would be proud.
Not only because she has made a name for herself as a rank outsider in the film industry, but also because she is a fitness enthusiast who feels stronger both "physically and mentally" when she works out.
In an exclusive interview with NDTV, Tripathi says, "During my childhood, my father used to ask me 'Which book are you reading and did you exercise today?' I used to get very irritated because neither did I read a book nor did I exercise."
Today, whether it's single-sided and savage kettlebell swings, core exercises, or shoulder press, Tripathi's Instagram feed is full of workout motivation posts besides promotional material for her upcoming projects.
Besides her father, the New Delhi-born actor also credits her husband, rapper SlowCheeta (real name Chaitanya Sharma), her trainer Tridev Pandey, and most importantly, her fan-favourite character Gajagamini 'Golu' Gupta from Mirzapur.
Tripathi, who is in her 30s, started working on her physique with the "super motivating and fantastic" Pandey around seven years ago. It was right after her Mirzapur character 'Golu' Gupta undergoes an emotional and mental transformation following the aftermath of the series's season one finale.
"I wanted Golu to be a certain way. So the journey that started from there. It is true physically for sure, but now I know (when I work out) I'll feel mentally stronger as well. But I know I feel better on the days that I work out. I'm not getting time these days (to work out) so I'm really missing that.
"When you work out, it's not just about your muscles. It's about - yes I can do this. I can lift these weights, I have strength in me, your dopamine, etc. You are doing this for your mental as well as physical fitness. I definitely feel more confident," she says.
Tripathi also started eating better. "I don't have junk, the majority of food I eat is home cooked... When you start fixing one thing, others just fall into place."
There's another motivating agent at home now. It's her husband, whom she calls "one of the most disciplined people" she has met in life.
Tripathi tied the knot with the rapper, who is also an actor, in 2018.
"... He's so particular about fitness. He told me it's not that he cares about how I look. More than that, what he cares about is how I feel. He knows if I'm working out, doing my exercises I'll feel better..."
The actor is returning to theatre as a producer after 15 years with the acclaimed play Cock to mark Pride Month.
"I have always been interested in stories. Mediums and platforms are a way to put them across, but what's the main story, that's most important to me. I'm somebody who has grown up watching theatre and I wanted to be an actor because of what I saw on stage," she added.
Its premiere will be held on June 6, 2025 in Delhi at the Max Muller Bhavan.