Amitabh Bachchan, Anil Kapoor, Varun Dhawan And Others At The Launch Of Shilpa Shetty's Book 'The Great Indian Diet'

Known for her svelte and lissom figure, which she has retained even after turning 40 and becoming a mother, it was no suprise to anyone when Shilpa Shetty released a fitness DVD, Shilpa’s Yoga, a few years ago.

Now, the actor-turned-businesswoman has co-authored The Great Indian Diet with fitness expert Luke Coutinho. The launch of Shilpa’s book was attended by Amitabh Bachchan, Anil Kapoor, R Madhavan and Varun Dhawan who also talked about their fitness levels.

Commenting on her first book, Shilpa revealed, “I wanted to write a book for a long time but The Great Indian Diet wouldn’t have been possible without Luke Coutinho. We shared our research and that’s how the book came about.”

Shilpa says about the message of her book, “I wish people would stop thinking about weight loss and think more about gaining health. Through this book, I hope Luke and I have thrown light on this subject and simplified it. We should all be health-obsessed and not weight-obsessed.”

An A-list line-up of stars (all male) attended Shilpa’s book launch and the actor expressed her heartfelt gratitude to them. Talking about Varun Dhawan, Shilpa laughed, “I feel old because I have seen Varun as a child. I have worked with Davidji (Dhawan, Varun’s father) and I used to visit them. When I asked Varun’s mother about his relationship with food, she told me that his first crush is chicken.” Another food lover present was Madhavan and Shilpa chided him, “He is one of my dearest friends and I tortured him to stay fit during one holiday.”

Anil Kapoor, Shilpa’s co-star in Badhaai Ho Badhaai (2002) and Rishtey (2002), wrote the foreword to the book. Shilpa said, “I have learnt that one shouldn’t work out with Anil Kapoor because we don’t know where he derives his energy from. He is one of the most disciplined actors I have worked with. I couldn’t think of a better person to write the foreword because he lives by the philosophy of The Great Indian Food. He never likes what is on his plate; he is always fond of what others are eating.”

Over the moon about Big B’s presence, Shilpa gushed, “Amitji unfailingly remembers to call me on my birthday and every time he calls, he gives me some luck. He is truly an inspiration.”

R Madhavan said, “In India, there is a saying that ‘we are what we eat’ and slowly I realised that our health, wealth and happiness is all depending on the food we eat. The path Shilpa is on is fantastic and I am happy for her.”

Bachchan on the other hand revealed that he just started going to the gym recently. “I started going to the gym only about five-six years back because I was too busy earlier or no one advised me to. But after I saw some of my visuals, I realised I have to be in shape.”