Vidhatri Bandi Reveals John Abraham Inspired Her Fitness Journey: ‘My Fitness Journey Started After The Diplomat’

Vidhatri Bandi may have shared the screen with several accomplished actors during her career, but her experience working with John Abraham on The Diplomat appears to have left a particularly lasting impression. Reflecting on her time on the 2025 political thriller, Vidhatri described John as a “total inspiration”, particularly when it came to his discipline and commitment to fitness. “Total inspiration. I mean, the kind of discipline you see that man having even today,” she said, before revealing that watching John work actually changed the way she approached her own health and fitness.

Vidhatri admitted that she has never personally told John just how much his example influenced her, but the impact of working with him was significant. “I don’t know if he’ll ever watch this, but I’ve also never told him personally, but my fitness journey started after The Diplomat,” she revealed. According to the actor, simply observing John’s routine for around 40 days was enough to motivate her to make major changes. “My fitness, like lifting weights, being very aware of my nutrition and what I’m putting in my body — all of that started after The Diplomat,” she said. For Vidhatri, the experience was not about being given advice directly; seeing John’s discipline up close was inspiration enough.

She recalled being struck by the actor’s ability to maintain such a demanding routine while also handling long shooting hours. “Just working with him for 40 days and just seeing gives you inspiration to work out. I was like, ‘What am I doing?’” Vidhatri said with a laugh. She was particularly amazed by the schedule John maintained during the shoot. “This man wakes up at like 4:00 in the morning, shows up at the gym and still comes and shoots for 12 hours,” she recalled. For an actor observing that routine from close quarters, John’s consistency became a reminder that fitness and professional commitments require discipline rather than occasional bursts of motivation.

But while John Abraham may have been intensely disciplined about his fitness and work, Vidhatri revealed that there was another side to him on the sets of The Diplomat. Asked if the actor was also the prankster among the cast, she immediately agreed. “Yes. Yes, he was. He was. Yeah,” she said. According to Vidhatri, John’s playful nature would often surface at precisely the moments when everyone else needed to stay serious for a scene. “There were many scenes where, you know, we had to give serious performance and he would be like tickling or he would be, you know, making you laugh,” she recalled.

That contrast between John’s professional discipline and his playful personality is something Vidhatri remembers fondly. While The Diplomat dealt with a high-stakes subject and required the actors to maintain the seriousness of the story, John apparently knew how to break the tension between takes. “And these are like really serious. Yeah, so he is a prankster. He is a prankster,” Vidhatri said. Rather than finding the interruptions frustrating, she described the experience positively, suggesting that the lighter moments helped create a comfortable atmosphere on set despite the demanding nature of the material.

Ultimately, Vidhatri looks back at her experience working with John Abraham with a sense of gratitude. “It was lovely. I think I’ve been very fortunate to work with all of these actors who are absolutely wonderful,” she said. From Vidya Balan’s warmth and presence on the sets of Jalsa to John’s discipline and humour on The Diplomat, Vidhatri’s experiences have given her the opportunity to observe very different approaches to the craft. Her revelation that working with John sparked her own fitness journey adds another personal dimension to their collaboration — proof that sometimes an actor can leave an impression on a co-star far beyond what audiences see on screen.

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