It's pretty much touch-and-go for filmmaker-turned-actor Tigmanshu Dhulia .He is grappling with a multitude of tasks , and that now includes losing 10-15 kilos for his role as Irrfan Khan's buddy in Yaariya which Tigmanshu will direct in July.

`So I've exactly two months to seriously lose weight,` informs the agitated director from the sets of Nikhil Advani's Hero. `I need to look younger and also well-matched with Irrfan who will play my friend. With the way I look right now we'll look like Laurel and Hardy together,` chuckles Tigmanshu who has stepped into Yaariya to take over a role earmarked for Manoj Bajpai.

`Manoj had a problem with the dates of about 15 days of shooting . We were trying to sort it out when my producer of Yaariya suggested I step into the role. I said, why not? After all I'm currenty playing one of the toughest roles of my career,` says Tigmanshu about his role as debutante Aatthia Shetty's father in Hero.

`To begin with, my character is that of a man 15 years older than me. He is a police commissioner and the father of a grownup daughter. All this is alien to me.Also the role has no dramatic highs and lows. In comparison my character in Yaariya is much closer to my personality,` admits Tigmanshu.


A strict diet regime will start from next month so that Tigmanshu would look well matched with his screen friend Irrfan Khan in Yaariya.

Says Tigmanshu, `I'm overweight and I needed to lose weight anyway.This role gives me a chance to shed the extra baggage on me.` Tigmanshu is currently juggling with his acting role in Hero, the pre-production of his directorial venture Yaariya and his weight-loss regime. `There are three sets of people with me on the sets of Hero. I'm shooting with Nikhil Advani's team and doing my pre-production work for Yaariya. My weight consultant is also on the sets,` sighs Tigmanshu.

With production,direction , acting and singing(yes, Tigmanshu plays the guitar and sings also) are we looking at another Farhan Akhtar in Bollywood?

`Let me lose 20 kilos. Then we'll see,` quips Tigmanshu.