Manchu Hero Gained 20 kgs

Actor Manchu Manoj, who will be seen playing a Sri Lankan leader in his upcoming Telugu-Tamil bilingual “Okkadu Migiladu”, gained 20 kg to play his part and later shed 10 kg to play a role in another film.

“The role of the Sri Lankan leader required me to look huge and overweight. Hence, I gained about 20 kg. After we finished shooting that portion, I went and shot for another film called ‘Gunturodu’. In the process, I lost 10 kg to play a student union leader,” Manoj said.

The film, slated to hit the screens in September, will release in Tamil as “Naan Thirimba Varuven”.

The story is set in two time periods — 1990 and 2017.

“We have captured the tension of Ceylon in the 1990s as realistically as possible. The film is based on an untold true story. It’s a very emotional story and focuses on the lives of those (Eelam Tamils) who die tragic deaths during that period,” he said.