By Hindustan Times

Mumbai, July 14 -- Manoj Bajpai is on a perpetual diet these days. Reason: He has to lose four kgs before he starts shooting for Anurag Kashyap's Gangs Of Wasseypur, a film on the coal mine mafia in a small town in which he plays a desi Marlon Brando-like Godfather.

"I've already cut down six kilos but there's still a long way to go," sighs Bajpai, who had put on eight kgs earlier to play a goldsmith with chubby cheeks in Dus Tola.

More flab needed

Dus Tola is a light-hearted Hinglish comedy revolving around a lovable simpleton. Adapted from a Malayalam film, it required Bajpai to not just change his body language but acquire a more flabby body but also put some weight on his face.

Just before he had signed this film, the actor had lost weight with much difficulty. So it was something of a shock to be informed that he had to pile on the kilos again. "It wasn't too difficult though. I just gorged on one of my favourite dishes, mutton biryani," he smiles.

The trouble begins now when, after playing this good-as-gold character, he turns gray in Kashyap's dark world that is expected to go on the floors later this month. Munching on salads, Bajpai consults with his dietician regularly and dreams of the day when another Dus Tola and more biryani comes his way.

"Dus Tola helped me evolve as an actor with a diametrically different role. It's a lovely little film that can make an impression if promoted and marketed well," he asserts. "If I'm unhappy about anything, it's all the extra flab that has resulted in this ghas-pus (greens) diet."