Different people battle with different things in their lives: adversity, afflictions, unfulfilled ambitions and aspirations.

Adnan Sami has, on the face of it, an abundance of everything � talent, success, the support of his family, the adulation of his fans, the solace of finding his calling when he hits the right note and the goodwill that his genial disposition brings. However, what he has had in the greatest abundance has been his undoing � his phenomenal weight, which threatened him with a life-crippling scare last year.

We meet at his modest Versova apartment where he sits in front of me in trousers that literally fall off when he stands up to say hello. It�s a proud moment! He shows off by sticking his flapping hands in the space between his trouser button and his belly button and declares, �See how much weight I�ve lost. I need to get new clothes every few weeks!� Saving the best for last, he gloats: �I�ve just twenty kilos more to knock off (this was at the time of our interview, one balmy afternoon in April), and, then, I�m off to New York to shop for a smashing new wardrobe. That�s going to be my biggest treat to myself.�

He seems a simple person, who lives a surprisingly �unstarry� life for a man of his stature. Or, maybe, we are used to having filmi expectations of people who work in the movies, imagining that they will be larger than life when we meet them � no pun intended, especially in Adnan�s case, given that he had lost 110 kgs to the day when we met!

He was busy with a television crew for a while, so we waited in his living room that was dominated by two huge pieces of equipment � a treadmill and a music system with a karaoke! There wasn�t too much by way of adornment, except frilly window curtains and an old brass gramophone. The dining room had a small table at which he would have eaten some exceptionally large meals in his heyday, but not any more.

Adnan decided to cut himself down to size before, God forbid, the surgeons did, because by his own admission he was in very bad health owing to his excessive obesity. �I had reached an extremely low point,� he recalls, �I could not even lie down comfortably with all that weight. Walking more than a few steps wore me out, and that too with the aid of a walking stick! For longer distances I needed a wheelchair, and at places like the airport they did not have wheelchairs my size you see, I could not fit into a standard wheel chairs, so I had to carry my own customized wheelchair along. I had asthma, water retention, blood pressure, lymphoderma, and a host of other ills. But, mercifully, no diabetes or cholesterol. Still, the doctors told me if I continued that way, I may not continue too long! That�s when I decided to do something.�

So, off he went to America where his father located a specialized nutritionist and Adnan follows her instructions via the internet up to this day. �It feels so good to have come this far,� he beams, �but the first month was agony. I was in serious withdrawal about having to drastically cut down on my diet. I used to love my food, especially my biryanis and non-vegetarian dishes. My standard line those days used to be: I eat everything, and a lot of it! I had a huge appetite. I have been a complete connoisseur of food. I loved and lived to eat, am a great cook and know a heck of a lot about food. My taste buds are highly developed. I can taste a dish and tell you what is in it, and what needs to be in it to make it better! I suppose you could call me a big foodie,� he confesses.

He still cooks, although he cannot eat his own specialities. Recently, when friends came over from America they wanted to sample his delicacies. �I cooked a whole bunch of stuff for them, and then settled myself down with my bowl of salad,� he says mock-sadly. �They felt very bad for me!�

He is feeling great, though. �With all the weight off I am able to do so many things again. I don�t hate airports anymore as I don�t need my customized wheelchair. I can drive, I can take the stairs. I am enjoying life all over again and valuing the smallest things.�

His approach to his new way of life is pragmatic: �I have reformed my habits and my lifestyle, and not just my diet. My dietician told me that I must start thinking healthy, or else being on a diet would freak me out. I still go out � I have to, my work entails travel. But I have learned to make the right choices. I order clear soups instead of creamy ones, I have grilled chicken instead of deep fried chicken as I once did, I have diet drinks if I feel thirsty. I�ve cut out sugar, rice, bread, and oil. But I don�t feel deprived. I have trained myself to give up all the horrible things that I had become accustomed to, which were making me sick. I wouldn�t think twice about grabbing a big bag of chips every time I was hungry, I drank lots of tea with too much sugar, I would party and eat fried food late into the night which is the worst thing because you can never digest all that fat. And I felt totally depleted. Before I got into the �diet space� I never understood what this was doing to my body. Besides, we all grow up in a culture where we eat very rich food. Oil floating on top is seen as a sign of great cooking! I have had to undo all that I took for granted and have rebuilt new habits.�

He still recalls, with horror, his last meal before he began his diet. �I call it my �Last Supper�! It was in Houston and I went out and ate a Portland Steak. It was huge � 32 ounces � with a mushroom cream sauce and mashed potatoes with butter. As a side order I opted for crab cakes. And, then, topped it with some Tiramisu!�

He does add, though, �Today I feel nausea at the thought of it! I have grown into enjoying healthier food, which is so important to me because otherwise I would not have been able to stick to my diet. In America, there are sugar free �diet� options available for everything but in India this is still not so.� He relies on his own kitchen to organize his meals, which are fairly stringent.

His daily diet goes thus: In the morning he has his tea (sugar free). For lunch its salad with a tablespoon of dressing (�I add half a cup of skimmed milk so that the dressing bulks up and covers the entire salad,� he reveals). In the evening he snacks on a bowl of popcorn. And dinner is dal with a dry, roasted, oil-free tadka (�we brown it nicely and then spice up the dal with Tabasco sauce and lime!�) and there is some more salad.

He still cooks, and reveals that his oil-free, dry moong dal with onions and tomatoes is delicious. His other gourmet concoctions (strictly for guests) include lobster thermidore, biryani, kadai gosht, and the like. �I create my own recipes,� he offers. The secret lies in the subtlety of his spicing. �I feel that throwing in a lot of spices is the worst way to cook,� he emphatically denounces. �If I cook a biryani, for instance, I will not add zaffran and kewda and rose water and elaichi all together. I will use one spice and let it dominate so that there is a distinctive flavour.�

Being such a passionate food lover, it has been a tough journey for him to dramatically alter his diet. But tougher still was coming to terms with the emotional issues that created his condition. Very often, aberrant food behaviour is linked to deep-rooted psychological triggers that need resolving. Adnan admits as much. �My nutritionist put me through several different tests, both medical and mental, to understand why I had become like that and what they found was that my obesity was linked to depression. I lost my son nine years ago (after a failed marriage to actress Zeba Bakhtiar) and overeating was my way of comforting myself for the pain it caused me. Also, from my mother�s side, there is definitely a huge genetic propensity and problem with obesity.�

Having better understood his condition, and overcome the odds, he now sees himself as someone who can help others in similar situations. �People are not aware of the illness of obesity,� he laments. �Other addictions like alcohol and drugs have much more understanding and get sympathy. Unfortunately, that sensitivity does not extend to obesity. People crack jokes and think obese people have a jolly good time eating and making merry, but it hurts to have such a handicap. It makes one feel helpless. But God has blessed me, and I�m going to do my bit by telling people that obesity is a serious illness. It�s not just about stuffing your face and hogging recklessly. There are serious implications. In fact, this silly notion that plump children are �healthy� is preposterous. In many places across India they still feel overweight people are happy and prosperous � utterly ridiculous.�

He does add, though, that Indian cuisine remains his favourite. �Ours is the most evolved cuisine in the world. If you take away cheese from the Italians, what do they have! And the French go on and on about their fine food, but it�s like andhon mein kaana raja! European food is very basic with just a few sauces. Compare that with our slow cooked payas or our nihari or any of our highly sophisticated regional cuisines and then let them talk!� he challenges.

Other than food, of course, his great passion is music. �You have to see me in my new video Kisi Din which I have recorded for T-Series. My work is my biggest joy and best escape. I would have spent millions in therapy if I weren�t able to ventilate my emotions through my music!� he jokes. He also enjoys reading biographies. �It�s fascinating to see how people have overcome their demons and come through the tunnel. It�s equally interesting to see how people who have made it lose it all suddenly and die penniless and alone. I am intrigued by the manner in which people live their lives.�

Above all, he has faith in Someone Up There. �I do not pray five times a day, but my commitment to God is very strong. We have a wrong notion about the word miracle. Everyday miracles are not as dramatic as the parting of the Red Sea, but they are also significant. When I take five minutes to compose a song without any effort, I know it is a blessing from God. The vision that comes to us from a higher force is a miracle, and I am grateful for it,� he trails off.