'Abs' Tounding!

The world knows him as ‘Devon Ke Dev Mahadev’… Presenting the man behind it — Mohit Raina, who with his bulging muscles, mystic eyes and handsome good looks, has set the small screen ablaze.

- Harsha Advani

Getting to speak with the hunk of Indian television, who wakes up at 5.30 a.m to exercise and then shoots from nine in the morning till nine in the night, is extremely hard.

But finally when we did pin him down for our interview, the experience was nothing short of interesting. Mohit is easy-going, affable and mad about fitness… In a freewheeling chat with us, the Greek God of Indian television opens up about his childhood, passion for fitness, playing ‘Mahadev’, his new avatar and more…

AN UNAMBITIOUS FAT KID

“I come from a very small town in Jammu and Kashmir. As a kid, I was very active, and used to play a lot of cricket, volleyball and football. I was quite unambitious too…

“When I reached college, I would study when required but otherwise would just laze around. I did not play games too as I grew up, and the concept of gymming was not there either. So I started gaining weight. At one point, I was more than 100 kgs, and never really took my health seriously.”

…TURNS INTO A FIT MODEL

“But being part of the entertainment industry was always something that I wished. So in 2005, I filled the forms for the ‘Mr India’ modelling contest, to get an entry into the industry. That’s when it first struck me that if I seriously wanted to be in the entertainment industry, I need to look a little presentable at least.

“I joined a gym and worked out rigorously to lose weight – only to look lean and a bit presentable, not to build abs.”

MY MUMBAI SAGA

“To my luck, I was selected in the contest. And when I reached Mumbai, I realised that there were many strugglers, especially from the North and small towns like me.