Through Thick & Thin

Our cover stars for this month’s FHM Fit, Karanvir Bohra and Teejay Sidhu are like two peas in a pod. Strikingly similar, yet totally different. With the addition of their loving twins, life has become double the fun. We talk to the duo about fitness, parenthood, and what it takes to deliver a stellar performance, as actors and as human beings.

Congratulations on the double bundle of joy in your life, your twins, Vienna Bohra and Raya Bella Bohra. How has parenthood changed you two?

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People have this notion that parenthood changes your life. You can’t go out and life becomes more restricted. However, it has made us even more fun and adventurous. We never had to adjust because of our children, in fact, the kids adjusted to ours as we came before them (laughs). They’ve opened up a whole new world to us and our life has become completely unpredictable. They are the most unplanned thing that has ever happened to us and the most beautiful surprise that God could have thrown our way. In fact, whenever you ask the babies “where’s dad?”, they may not know if he’s at work or in a meeting, but they’ll always say, “dad’s at the gym making muscles.” (laughs). The whole world is aware of our fitness routine, even our children understand that their dad is a fitness freak.

Karanvir, your recent release Hume Tumse Pyaar Kitna received rave reviews. How long did it take for you to prepare for the look? What was your fitness regimen like?

Hume Tumse Pyar Kitna released last year and with God’s grace, it was really received well with the critics as well as the audience. I had to look like a little young for the movie, say 22-23-year-old and for that, I had to lose a lot of weight. I had to appear literally, 10 to 12 years younger so I had to cut down on a lot of carbs and fats to get that look. Very rarely you get a role where you need to look like literally half your age and you don’t need any muscles, you just need to look like a college-goer kid. So I had to really work hard on that. It was very uneasy. Once the shoot was over, I just binged on the faloodas.

Like life, Bigg Boss is full of ups and downs, but you managed to pull through the exhausting journey in the house. How was the experience?

As you said, life is like Big Boss, so I won’t call the journey exhausting because life is like that. It has its ups and downs. All depends on how you make it interesting and how you manage to make decisions. Some could be right, some could be wrong, but you deal with them. That’s what life teaches you. I learnt that you need to express yourself in a very gentle way where you intentionally don’t hurt a person but put your point of view across.

Teejay, your open letter was a mark of honesty and courage. But in order to survive in today’s world, honesty doesn’t seem to suffice. If given an opportunity, would you change anything about the event?

I didn’t expect that the letter would get such a huge reply. I think the reason why my open letter connected with practically the whole country was the fact that I didn’t accuse anybody. I was just concerned about my husband’s well-being. I didn’t think that is the channel going to get upset or will the production or the host is upset with me. I was just asking a couple of questions and I have the right to do that. When you’re being honest, be truthful but do it in a kind way. Do it in a way where you’re not hurting anybody and no one can hold it against you. There’s nothing that I would change about it. I don’t regret it, in fact, I feel that I did the right thing, I spoke my mind, I spoke my heart.

The industry in which you and Karanvir are, dividing responsibilities between parents is crucial as there are unending work hours. How do you two manage?

TJ: Well, we are lucky that we are in an industry where we have a lot of flexible hours. If I’m shooting for something, KV’s free, so he’ll bring the babies on my set. And if KV’s shooting then I’ll take the babies where he is. The babies were practically raised on sets. We have done ad shoots, magazine covers, editorials, and they’ve been a part of it all. Managing the children hasn’t been difficult and we still don’t have a nanny. My mother keeps travelling with me from Canada. So, I’ve got an extra parent hands when she is around, we’re totally sorted.

What would be the food of your choice be on a regular working day and on cheat days?

My choice of food would be protein and very little carbs. I eat a lot of fruits during the day and drink two bottles of BCAA (Branched-chain amino acid) and a minimum of three bottles of water. I am a major falooda addict and can eat it nearly 2 or 3 times a day. It is a weakness, and definitely a cheat meal for me.

To get that ripped and flexed body, youngsters are more inclined towards supplements these days. Do you support the idea?

With a proper regular diet, you do need proteins and supplements like vitamins and BCAAs. I think it’s an essential part of getting ripped and having a flexible body. So, I would advise them but yes, don’t skip your meals by having just a protein bar or protein shake. You need a sufficient amount of fibres and carbs by veggies and fruits. You cannot skip that.

Apart from training in the gym, what is that one activity that keeps you both entertained while maintaining your fitness levels?

KV: I really love doing yoga. For my dance sequences or fights, my body needs to be flexibility. So yoga gives me the energy to do anything. Whether its gymming or martial arts, yoga is one activity that I would always do when I’m not sweating it out in the gym.a I recommend yoga to every individual, be it, youngsters, middle-aged people or the elderly. If you continue doing yoga, you will have a balanced and stress-free mind, which is the need of the hour in today’s day and age.

A right posture matters while walking, sitting or even sleeping. How important do you think it is while performing any particular exercise?

Our natural posture is in an ‘S’ shape but because of our desk jobs, we convert this posture into a ‘C’ shape, which is incorrect for the body. I’ve seen that occur in workouts where people work out in C-shape with a hunch back. I believe correct posture changes your style of walking and even the way you speak or express yourself.

Social media today has become very powerful in terms of influencing people. How do you think it is helping in motivating fitness enthusiasts?

When we work out, we post our progress on social media and it motivates people to see our journey. Though I would advise that don’t look at photos and believe everything you see. Some people put pictures that are photoshopped. So, don’t compare yourself to what you see on social media. Everybody’s journey is different and being fit doesn’t mean being thin, it means having a healthy lifestyle, exercising a little bit every day and eating the right food. It’s more important to be fit than to be skinny.

You are a remarkably good-looking couple, please share some tips for our readers on how to maintain a healthy physique and climb the ladder of fitness.

We both meditate and pray to keep ourselves grounded. Since the time we met, that was actually the main thing that bought us together. The industry is a very tough place where people can often lose themselves and sometimes careers don’t last and relationships don’t last either, but we look at real things. We have a good solid emotional foundation, so we don’t let anything break us. When it comes to maintaining a good physique, we don’t put pressure on ourselves. It is important to work as hard as you can but not kill yourself in the gym. Take up dancing, practice yoga, go running in the rain, but, don’t just be stuck indoors. Try on different kinds of exercise routine to keep the fun element instilled.

Give us an insight into your future projects. When will we see you two together on screen?

We would love it if somebody would cast us together. We’re working on some non-fiction ideas and have a Youtube channel for the babies, thus, we are developing a new show for that. We’re also working on some web content to get the ball rolling. It’s going to be a really exciting future and we’ve got a lot to look forward to. Actually, we have too many ideas and so little time to shoot them all.

Rapid Fire

• Do you guys often workout together? TJ: I work out 4 days a week and he does it for a complete 7 days. So, my 4 days are always with him
• The fitness song you both jam to? Any song by Cardi B
• Teejay, if you could steal one item from your husband’s closet, what would it be? His finishing shine spray
• Karanvir, the same question for you. If you could steal one item from your wife’s closet, what would it be? Her lip balm
• What is the strangest thing you love about your spouse? KV: Teejay is a little goofy and I love that aspect about her TJ: He’s not so much weird but practical
• If you had a million dollars, what would you do? KV: Turn them into a billion and then give a million to the charity TJ: Give some away to help and invest the rest
• What is the first thing that you do as you get up in the morning? KV: Go to the bathroom TJ: Drink water and then go back to sleep for a while
• Who takes longer to get dressed? KV: Trust me, it’s me who gets ready fast. She always takes more time, always
• Has parenthood taken a toll on your fitness schedules? KV: Not at all, it’s contrary, we’ve become even more conscious and in better shape TJ: Moreover, we like to do more steps because we take the kids out for a walk
• If you woke up one morning as each other, meaning KV in TJ’s body and TJ in KV’s body, what would you do? TJ: I would be more strict on my diet and build the best body KV: I would pick up the pile of clothes lying around in the room and put it in the closet TJ: For that, you don’t need to be me

Quickies for Karanvir & Teejay

• Sweating it out in the gym or yoga in the morning Both, simultaneously.
• Sunset or sunrise: Sunrise
• Good health days or good hair days TJ-Good health days KJ-Good hair days
• Who is more likely to burn down the house if they cook Karanvir
• Out of the two of you, who do the twins resemble the most The elder one looks like Karanvir and the little one looks like me (Teejay)
• Your favourite movie to binge watch together Stranger things on Netflix
• Which spouse is more likely to eat junk food and skip workouts? KV: It rather is me