If you’ve ever stepped inside a desi gym in India, you’re bound to have faced a barrage of lean and mean celebrity posters staring at you in disapproval. Your usual suspects include Hrithik Roshan, Aamir Khan, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff and Kartik Aaryan, their faces gawking at you from these posters intended to motivate.

Add to that you’ve got your desi trainers pointing out a billion different things ‘wrong’ with your body - your chest is too small, your butt is too large, your legs are too scrawny and your abs need to exist. This enumerated list of shortcomings makes them feel empowered by this strange version of an outdated dating fad called ‘negging’. Leaving us demotivated by the whole experience. 

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Many men get intimidated by these in person interactions at the gym, and rightfully so. One of the biggest problems plaguing our fitness industry is the flurry of ‘Bro science’ peddlers prevalent at every gym. Some claim that women shouldn’t lift heavy weights as it would make them unnecessarily muscular (?!!), while others try to persuade you into hopping onto the latest anabolic steroid that they’re injecting themselves with (no thank you) for ‘gains’. Honestly, it can all get seriously demotivating when the only thing we’re trying to do is work on our fitness without worrying about these false alarms. 

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Bollywood holds a strange sway over the trends of this country’s masses. Stars from this industry can make or break trends with a flick of their wrist, an utterance from their mouths. So they definitely need to be careful about what they claim to be ‘facts’, especially since they might just be the latest anti-fad in fact. Just like consuming fats used to be demonised at some point in the fitness game, whey protein seems to be the latest bogeyman. 

In 2019, everyone’s favourite, Ayushmann Khurrana had been featured on an episode of the Ranveer Show on the popular fitness channel Beerbiceps. Over there, he discussed everything from his films, to his inspirations, style and his overall journey so far. Mostly meaningful discussions, to a certain extent. However, it was when he started discussing his fitness experience that he ended up committing the digital faux pas.  

With a cocky confidence and self assurance that only Bollywood actors possess, the Vicky Donor star goes on to claim, “Protein shakes are really bad. It takes 3 years to digest one scoop of protein shake by the way.” 

So, all this while we’d thought Ayushmann would be one of the smarter, more informed actors among the current lot of Bollywood stars. Especially, considering the kind of films he chooses are all on the lines of meaningful cinema - Bala, Badhai Ho and Article 15. He seemed like someone who did his research and thought before he talked. Unlike a certain Mr. Khiladi who made  a similar claim lambasting ‘whey protein’. 

A while back, Akshay Kumar had made public his staunch stance against consuming the supplement. However, the hypocrisy had to be called out when the fit celeb became the brand ambassador for Horlicks Protein. A markedly poorer product in terms of quality as compared to the whey protein brands available. 

About that outrageous three year claim by Ayushmann, here’s what actual research has to say.  

A 1997 study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, examined the absorption of two different protein types, i.e. whey & casein, consumed in one meal. The study showed that approximately 30g of whey protein digestion in the body takes place in 3-4hrs and 30g of casein takes around 7hrs to get digested.  

That’s approximately 26276 hours less than what Ayushmann claims it takes his body to digest a scoop of whey. If the number he came up with was based on his own body as reference, then he best rush to the nearest gastroenterologist or endocrinologist as his body is clearly not doing a good enough job. 

I truly believe that all individuals are entitled to their own private beliefs, even if it's harmful. No judgment about your personal lives. However, when it comes to celebrities, especially someone like Ayushmann Khurrana , they need to be held to a higher standard just by virtue of them being public figures, and the sheer influence they hold over the minds of the masses. Once they’ve reached that position in life, they need to be careful about misinformation that they could have fallen prey to, trying to correct those misconceptions instead of peddling it on a widely viewed YT channel. Once made public, these beliefs are bound to be questioned and criticized especially if they are poorly informed.

As the junta who happen to be their fans, we need to realize that they’re film stars, not subject matter experts in fields other than theirs. And we need to stop enabling them as role models in all aspects of our lives. Just because they played a doctor in a movie, doesn’t actually make them one, no matter how much research they put in for their role. 

Such blind faith is irresponsible and can cause more harm than good.

So next time you see a celeb try to tell you what’s good and what’s not as if they know best, just log out. You don’t need that energy in your life. 

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