Fitness sensation Guru Mann, who has been receiving a lot of positive response to his recently released film ‘Pagalpan Next Level’, shared how the ‘Mission Fit India’ came into existence.Guru, who got inspired by Bollywood superstar Salman Khan in the song ‘O Oh Jaane Jaana’ from the film ‘Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya’, to take up fitness, never had a smooth sail as his parents were against him taking up fitness as a profession.
When he moved to the San Francisco bay area for an IT job, he met an American lady there who was impressed with his fitness and told him that it was the first time she saw a fit Indian. This incident laid the foundation of ‘Mission Fit India’. As a part of the research for the fitness programme, Guru found out that India is in the list of top unfit countries.
Talking to IANS, he said: “India is one of the countries struggling from hypertension, diabetes and cholesterol. The reason behind the same is the food that we eat. We have to be very mindful of what’s coming to our homes in the form of groceries. The roti that you eat from market flour is not whole wheat, they mix maida (white flour) in it. The oil that we get is of cheap quality.”
“Earlier, our parents used to stay fit till the 1990s as everything was made at home or they would get it from a trusted source. Even the rotis were made out of wheat flour which they would walk to the aata chakki and get turned into flour. That was pure wheat roti.”
He continued: “Take a look at the rotis at your home. If it’s white in colour then what you’re eating is maida. If they’re brown, rest assured they’re made from whole wheat.”What Guru has said makes perfect sense especially when one looks at the food market through the prism of the post new economic policy era of globalisation and liberalisation. The global big food companies have entered the Indian market, many of them are in the FMCG sector where food products are often laced with sugar and preservatives posing a significant health risk to the consumers.
He also spoke about his debut film as he said that the film underlines his journey from Yamaha to Lamborghini. For the film, Guru underwent an extensive preparation. Though he was always good at extra-curricular activities in school, preparing for acting, dance and action took him sometime to get in the groove but the actor is highly satisfied with the result.
Guru mentioned that nobody except his wife, Harman Kaur Mann believed in his dream.“My wife has always been a solid support system for me. There were moments where I had doubts but she never doubted my intentions or my potential. If I’m one of the most sought after fitness YouTubers then a major credit goes to her.
‘Pagalpan Next Level’ is very special to me not because it shows my journey from Yamaha to Lamborghini but because it talks about bringing fitness in vogue. We Indians are capable of being the most fit community and I hope the film ignites that spark in all of us and inspires us to chase fitness as a lifestyle.”
Directed by Aryeman Keshu Ramsay and produced by GJ Singh under the banner of Golden Glass Entertainment, ‘Pagalpan Next Level’ is currently playing in cinemas.