KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia-based Singapore actor Aaron Aziz has accused director Syamsul Yusof of making him take injections to lose weight for the upcoming film, The Original Gangster – which he was dropped from.
The revelation came a day after Syamsul, 38, told Malaysian media last Wednesday that Aaron was dropped from his action film due to “age, weight and health” concerns.
In an Instagram video last Thursday, Aaron, 47, said he had taken multiple injections at Syamsul’s request to achieve the weight that the Mat Kilau (2022) director wanted for the character.
“You (Syamsul) sent me a photo saying this was how you wanted my body to look like (for the movie) and I told you on WhatsApp that I’d need to go for injections to make my body look that.
“You told me to go (for the injection). I went multiple times. Whenever I wanted to meet you to show my progress, you didn’t want to see me.
“You come to my house nicely when you need something, but throw me aside like rubbish when I’m not needed,” he lamented.
In his video, Aaron admitted that he found it “impossible” to achieve the desired weight for his role in The Original Gangster as he was not given enough preparation time.
Despite that, the popular actor said he spent four hours training daily in preparation for his role.
“I had just finished shooting for Geng Mamak which required me to train for six months. Your movie started filming a month later and you wanted me to lose weight in such a short time.
“It’s impossible, but I still tried my best. I was at around 99kg last time. Now, I’m at 90kg,” he said.
Last Wednesday, Syamsul told the press that the decision to pull Aaron out of the line-up was made collectively by him, the production crew, producers and cast members.
Syamsul said he had no choice but to drop Aaron as he did not want the actor to risk any injuries on set.
“I was afraid that some of the action scenes might affect Aaron’s health because Aaron said he has a slipped disc condition,” the director said.
He added that he also delayed the shooting of the movie to give Aaron time to get back into shape, but said that Aaron “failed to do so”.
“I called him and apologised for the whole situation because I’m the last person who wants to drop Aaron’s name from the film,” Syamsul said. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
