Ahaan Panday reveals undergoing a painful shoulder surgery after Saiyaara. (Source: Instagram/Ahaan Panday). Fitness transformations are often celebrated for their visible results. But what is rarely seen is the physical setback, medical intervention, and mental discipline that sometimes lie behind those changes. In a recent interview with Esquire India, Saiyaara actor Ahaan Panday shared a lesser-known chapter of his fitness journey. Hesitant at first, he admitted, “I don’t know if I should say this,” before revealing, “I actually got a whole surgery done after the release of Saiyaara last year. And it’s one of the most painful surgeries you can do, with the longest recovery time.”. A few years earlier, he had suffered a shoulder subluxation after a snowmobile incident, he revealed. The lingering injury affected his ability to train the way he wanted, especially ahead of an action film. Despite being warned by his doctor that post-surgery his body would “go back to zero,” making it “nearly impossible” to achieve the physique required for his next project, he chose to go ahead with the procedure. Now, he says he was determined to “prove everyone wrong.”. Reflecting on his fitness journey, he explained, “I used to feel motivated by actors who had dramatic gym transformations. But that was usually from a certain unhealthy body type to a healthy one. This was different; I went from being injured, to not being able to move, to not being able to lift, to being able to lift.” He also revealed that he spent months in a cast without most people noticing. “I don’t know how nobody realised!” he said with amusement. While he stays largely offline, some observant followers noticed his weight loss and even reached out to his mother’s social media, asking, “Why is he losing so much weight?” he shared, smiling.. But from a sports medicine perspective, what does ‘go back to zero’ really mean after a major surgery?. Dr Raghu Nagaraj, director at Institute of Orthopaedics, Sports Medicine and Robotic Joint Replacement at Kauvery Hospitals, Bengaluru, tells indianexpress.com, “From a sports medicine standpoint, ‘going back to zero’ typically refers to the loss of baseline strength, neuromuscular coordination, joint stability, and sometimes even muscle mass following surgery and immobilisation. After a major orthopaedic procedure, especially involving the shoulder, patients often experience significant deconditioning. The muscles around the joint weaken, proprioception reduces, and movement patterns become inefficient.”. View this post on Instagram. However, according to Dr Nagaraj, going back to zero does not mean starting from scratch biologically. The body retains muscle memory at a neuromuscular level. “With structured rehabilitation, progressive loading, and supervised strengthening, regaining peak strength is very realistic in most young and otherwise healthy individuals,” he notes.. How does recovering f
