Anil Kapoor underwent a “serious physical transformation” to fit into the role of a 45-year-old Air Force officer in Hrithik Roshan-headlined Fighter soon after playing a 65-year-old man in Ranbir Kapoor’s Animal, the actor said in an Instagram post on Sunday, sharing a set of his shirtless images.

The 66-year-old plays Air Force officer Rocky in action thriller Fighter, set for a 2024 release. In Animal, which will hit theatres later this year, he plays Ranbir’s father Balbir Singh.

“Switching between two completely opposite roles this last year has been both challenging and gratifying,” Anil wrote alongside the pictures. “Going from the 65-year-old Balbir in Animal to the 45-year-old Air Force officer Rocky in Fighter, I had to undergo a serious physical transformation to do justice to the prestigious uniform I was wearing,” he added.

The first picture was probably taken right after an ice bath. Anil can be seen shirtless, with his hands on his hips. He wears red-tinted sunglasses and flaunts his muscles.

In the next picture, the veteran actor gives a close-up view of his abs in a mirror selfie.

The actor is seen smoking a cigar in a bathtub full of ice in another picture. He wears sunglasses and gives a thumbs up to the camera.

In the last photo, Anil is seen in the middle of a workout session, donning a black tank top paired with a white cap as he looks fixedly at his punching bag.

Varun Dhawan commented on the actor’s post with a joke. “It’s easy to do all this when ur just 18 years old Anil when u reach ur 30s it gets tougher.”

Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Animal revolves around a troubled father-son relationship between Anil Kapoor and Ranbir Kapoor’s characters in the backdrop of a vicious underworld, while Siddharth Anand’s Fighter is an aerial action film.

Earlier, the actor had shared his first look from Animal on Instagram. The 66-year-old wears a blue suit and a bandage on the left side of his chest as he stares at the camera.

Co-produced by T-Series and Cine1 Studios, Animal is set to hit theatres on December 1. Fighter, produced by Siddharth Anand, Mamta Anand and Kevin Vaz in association with Viacom 18 Studios, will arrive in theatres on January 25, 2024.