The woman behind Aishwarya's neo-look

By Manissha Despaande Sep 21, 2006, 7:13 GMT

Mumbai, Sep 21 (IANS) Dipika Mehta - who gave Aishwarya Rai the much-talked about lean look for 'Dhoom 2' - has become quite a sought after fitness trainer ever since.

Dipika is being flooded with calls from actors requesting her to 'transform' them, reports Bollywood Trade.

The unassuming Dipika has been in this business for 10 years and has trained Bipasha Basu, Priyanka Chopra, Yana Gupta and Vidya Balan.

It was director Aditya Chopra who got in touch her to give Aishwarya a new look.

'I had trained Rimi Sen for 'Dhoom' and Aditya was keen to have a very different look for Ash in the second part,' said Dipika.

Dipika had put Aishwarya on a combination of dance routine and a daily session of yoga and meditation. However, she was extra cautious about not putting the actress on a rigorous diet.

'She has the best face in the world and I didn't want to spoil it by putting her on a crash diet. Instead, I planned a dance-based workout for her coupled with a hi-nutrition and low calorie diet. I also used my research in yoga, ayurveda and naturopathy to achieve the desired result,' she revealed.

What got her more enthused about the training programme was the way Aishwarya took to the dance-and-diet routine.

'A trainer can succeed only if the student responds positively to the training. It is a two-way process. What I liked about Ash was her dedication and utter sense of professionalism. She used to come in dot on time for the one-and-a-half-hour dance and yoga session and she put her heart in it.'

Dipika was also impressed with Aishwarya's flexibility.

'She has a background in dance and has an amazingly flexible body. I found that her body started responding to the exercise schedule from day one.'

Aishwarya worked in a discreet gym at the prestigious Taj Land's End in Mumbai, where Dipika trains all her hi-profile clients.

'Privacy and the respect of my clients is very important, that's why I chose Taj where they can afford to be themselves without being conscious.'

Dipika is now gearing up to train another hi-profile actor but she isn't willing to reveal the identity yet.

Isn't she faced with situations where actors refuse to share her with any of their counterparts?

'Not so far. The actors who have trained under me are more concerned about their own success instead of what I have to offer others,' she smiled.

© 2006 Indo-Asian News Service