Ever the committed actress, Shabana Azmi is doing what Renee Zellweger did for Bridget Jones – heaping her plate with extra calories! The 58-year-old actress, who usually looks svelte and stunning, has admitted to gaining 25 Kgs for her role in Gurinder Chadha’s film, It’s a Wonderful Afterlife. The movie is a comedy is true Chadha style and is about an fanatical Punjabi mother who takes her obsession with marriage into the extremes.

Though completely overweight, Azmi isn’t complaining because she’s having a ball in her role as a hysterical Indian mom. Azmi, who has to stay heavy for at least 2 months, is all praise for Chadha’s professionalism. This is not the first time Azmi has literally gotten under the skin of her character. In Deepa Mehta’s Water, she shaved off her luxuriant hair. The multi-cultural cast includes the likes of Sally Hawkins, Zoe Wanamaker, Jimi Mistry, Sendhil Ramamurthy and Mark Addy.