This has been an eventful year for Minissha Lamba with Shaurya, Bachna Ae Haseeno and Kidnap hitting the theatres. But her bikini bravado sure came as a big surprise to everybody, she laughs.” People are surprised and shocked. But it has been a positive reaction,” she says with relief.

When she was informed about the bikini appearance in Kidnap by Sanjay Gadhvi, the director, her reaction was that of “total apprehension because I thought of my present image and wondered if I was ready to take the plunge.”

But once she was convinced, she headed home and pulled out a bikini from the closet and tried it on, “I was scared. Because I realised that it was going to be tough to get into shape,” says Minissha.

With a steely resolve, she galvanised herself into action, “Being bikini-fit is really difficult. Especially for a film where you have to be extra toned since the camera will go all over you and spy on every ounce on your body,” she explains. She had six to eight months to shape up. And it was a tough process. Life would be so much easier if you wanted your body to get shaped the way you want at a command. The regimen included an hour of rigorous gym work outs.

Add to that the strict diet charts, “You are constantly hungry. You can never enjoy that feeling of being full stomach. You have to do this to break your body’s resistance and then it starts responding to heavier training. It is as tough as the Army boot camp,” she says. Under the hawk-eyed vigilance of her dietician and physical trainer, she managed to knock off “four to five kilos” to acquire the bikini bravado.

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