Parineeti Chopra has opened up about the professional consequences of gaining weight for Amar Singh Chamkila. The actor said she lost brand opportunities and stopped attending events after changing her appearance for the role of Amarjot Kaur. She also revealed that losing the weight afterwards has remained a challenge.
Parineeti Chopra made a significant physical change for her role as Amarjot Kaur in Imtiaz Ali’s Amar Singh Chamkila. Years after the film’s release, the actor has spoken about how that decision affected her work and how she dealt with public reactions to her appearance.
During an appearance on Raj Shamani’s podcast Figuring Out, Chopra said director Imtiaz Ali wanted her to gain weight and keep her makeup minimal so that she could look more convincing as Amarjot.
Rather than prioritising her usual screen appearance, Chopra said she chose to follow the director’s vision for the character.
Parineeti Chopra says gaining weight affected her career
According to Chopra, the physical transformation had consequences beyond the film itself.
She said she lost brand deals and stopped attending events because she had become increasingly uncomfortable with the way she looked.
“I lost brands. I didn’t do events,” Chopra said, describing the impact the transformation had on her professional life.
She also recalled seeing speculation about her appearance online.
According to the actor, people suggested that she was pregnant or had undergone cosmetic procedures. Chopra said such comments were difficult to reconcile with the reason behind her appearance because she had deliberately changed her body for a film role.
She explained that her decision was driven by her commitment to Amar Singh Chamkila rather than a desire to change her appearance permanently.
Why Parineeti chose to gain weight for Amarjot Kaur
In Amar Singh Chamkila, Chopra played Amarjot Kaur, the singer and wife of Punjabi musician Amar Singh Chamkila, played by Diljit Dosanjh.
The film was directed by Imtiaz Ali and released on Netflix in 2024.
Chopra has previously discussed how seriously she approached the role, including the physical changes requested by the filmmaker.
The actor said she wanted to trust Ali’s vision and make the character feel authentic rather than focus on maintaining the appearance associated with her commercial work.
That decision, however, came with a professional trade-off that she said became apparent once the film’s production was over.
‘I have no interest in getting fat or looking bad’
Chopra also addressed the assumption that she had deliberately chosen to remain at a higher weight.
She said she had no personal desire to gain weight or “look bad” and pointed out that her clothes no longer fitted her properly.
The actor also revealed that she has continued to struggle with losing the weight she gained for the role.
“To date, I have not lost the weight. It has been a struggle to lose the weight also,” she said.
Her comments highlight the difference between a temporary physical transformation undertaken for a character and the expectations placed on actors to quickly return to a particular appearance afterwards.
How body shaming can affect professional confidence
The discussion also raises a broader question about the impact of appearance-based criticism on people working in industries where physical presentation is heavily scrutinised.
Yash Dilip, a Mumbai-based counselling psychologist, told Hunterfly that criticism can become particularly difficult when it begins to affect a person’s professional opportunities.
According to Dilip, repeated comments about someone’s appearance can make them feel that their physical appearance is directly connected to their professional value.
He said this may affect confidence and self-esteem, particularly when a person is repeatedly exposed to comparisons and reactions on social media.
Dilip also noted that constant scrutiny can create pressure to maintain a particular appearance and may lead some people to avoid situations where they expect to be judged.
Expert advice on dealing with appearance-based criticism
Dilip stressed that not every comment about someone’s body needs to become part of their self-image.
“You can acknowledge that criticism exists without allowing it to define your sense of self,” he said.
He suggested reducing exposure to particularly harmful online comments, maintaining relationships with supportive people and focusing on abilities that extend beyond physical appearance.
These observations provide broader context to Chopra’s account of the professional and personal pressures she described after changing her appearance for Amar Singh Chamkila.
Amar Singh Chamkila became a major turning point for Parineeti
Amar Singh Chamkila tells the story of Punjabi musician Amar Singh Chamkila and his wife and musical partner Amarjot Kaur.
The film featured Diljit Dosanjh and Parineeti Chopra in the lead roles and was directed by Imtiaz Ali.
Chopra’s portrayal required her to move away from the conventional image associated with some of her earlier commercial work. Her latest comments show that the commitment to the role extended beyond performance and into a physical transformation that she says had consequences for her career.
For Chopra, the experience appears to have underscored a difficult reality for performers: a physical change made for a character can be evaluated by the public long after the filming has ended.
