Who is Kiran Dembla (Bahu Turned Bodybuilder)

 

Meet Hyd's bodybuilding champ Kiran Dembla, one of the few women in the field &The ‘Bahu Turned Bodybuilder’ Who Now Trains Movie Celebrities. 

Who is Kiran Dembla?

Meet Hyd's bodybuilding champ Kiran Dembla, one of the few women in the field. 45-year-old Kiran is also a fitness trainer for celebrities, and her client list includes Tamannaah and Anushka Shetty. At the age of 33, Kiran Dembla, a native of Hyderabad, was leading quite a nonchalant life. 

“Everybody thanks my husband for being so supportive... But I never see people complimenting wives for being supportive when men achieve something in life,” Kiran Dembla remarked poignantly, while speaking to Tweak India last year. The 45-year-old ‘bahu turned bodybuilder’ who hails from Hyderabad is a woman of true grit and determination, and has a story that’s definitely worth your attention.  

Hailing from a humble Sindhi background, Dembla has made it big in a very unconventional space for women in India. She is a world-famous bodybuilding champion and, now, she’s also a celebrity fitness trainer to the likes of Taapsee Pannu, SS Rajamouli, Prabhas and others. While the courageous mother of two is being celebrated for her achievements today, life hasn't always been this easy. Choosing the path less traveled has often pitted Dembla against patriarchal setups and jarring sexism—something our country is plagued with.  

Dembla’s Inspiring Journey 

Dembla’s journey is awe-inspiring and motivating to say the least. She has proven that marriage, kids, battling a fatal illness, or even one's age, have little to do with their dreams and goals. In the interview mentioned above, Dembla playfully mentioned how she came from a “khata peeta khandaan”, and was initially an obese mother with no purpose or passion in life. Then, a turning point came in her life when she was diagnosed with blood clots in her brain. Back then, Dembla was scared, and soon realised that simply taking medication would not be enough to redeem herself. As you can imagine, hitting the gym at 35 years of age was not an easy task for her. Her weight induced a low self esteem, and there were more than enough people to urge her into believing her life was over. 

 

Dembla, however, took things into her own hands and decided to turn her life around. Soon enough, she found her groove at the gym and began to fall in love with the process. “Eventually, I started making friends… the boys would help me out. I became passionate about workouts and lost 25 kilos. I was a happier person,” she told the portal. Within a year’s time, her dedication had her believing she could run her own gym. Despite resistance from her husband, she enrolled in an online fitness program and began preparing for the future she wanted to create for herself. 


Dembla did it! She opened her own gym, and somehow managed to balance her dreams along with her family life. In time, she grew so popular, Chiranjeevi’s son Ram Charan signed up. He then informed his celebrity friends about it, opening up new opportunities for Dembla. “I’d train them in the mornings and take care of my house in the evening,” she said. Today, the powerhouse is a force to reckon with in the business and proudly represents India at world championships!  

Being something vs being Someone’s 

The world is aware of how tough it is for indian women to pursue careers in any field of sport, let alone bodybuilding, a space that’s wildly dominated by men. Breaking these deep rooted stereotypes, women like Dembla, Bani J, Shweta Rathore, Karuna Waghmare and the likes have proven that women are more than capable of shining in whatever sphere they put their mind to. 

 

Sure, it’s extremely tough for every woman in India that is trying to explore her identity and be something more than just someone’s better half. The judgemental looks, biting criticism, taunts, and guilt tripping are her companions throughout. But it’s women like Dembla who help others believe that one's future lies in their own hands. 

 

Today, Dembla is donning the hat of motherhood while being a successful bodybuilder and fitness trainer. She continues to run her own gym, where she’s transformed many. She’s also a classical singer, DJ artist, a vigorous mountaineer and a trained photographer. Phew! 

An Interview with Kiran Dembla

“After marriage, my life was confined to the 4 walls of my house. Every day, I’d wake up, clean and cook for the family. 10 monotonous years went by and every day, I felt like I wasn’t doing anything I loved. So I decided to take music classes for kids at home. But I barely left the house. My health deteriorated; I was so inactive that I put on 25 kgs.

That’s when I joined a gym– I felt happy after so long! I started going every day at 5 AM, so I could get back in time to get the kids ready for school. Over the next 7 months, I lost 24 kgs.

After that, I told my husband I wanted to open my own gym. So we rented a flat and converted it into a mini-gym. I sold my jewellery and we took a loan too. Within the first 4 months, everyone in our neighbourhood had heard about us.

When we realised we needed to expand, we invested in a bigger space. And my body felt better everyday– I became obsessed with the idea of having a six-pack. I made that my new goal– I worked hard and within 8 months, I had a 6 pack and muscles!

I had a new-found confidence– once, a 2-wheeler dashed my car. I was in a saree and at first I didn’t say anything, but then he started abusing me. But when I got out of my car, he saw my body and was mum. I slapped him and told him to never abuse women.

Even media agencies started contacting me for photoshoots. Then the Indian Body Building Federation gave me entry into the bodybuilding world championship– I couldn’t believe it! I started my training.

But 15 days before the championship, my father-in-law passed. So while we were at their house, I was in complete disguise. I wore a salwar to cover my body. There was no time to work out and following a diet became difficult. Non-veg wasn’t allowed inside her house. So one morning, I went all over trying to find someone who’d help me boil eggs. My nephew even snuck me out and helped me go to the gym.

We stayed for a week, after which I told my mom-in-law that I had to go back home to look after the kids. I didn’t want to tell her about the competition because I knew she’d be uncomfortable. I managed to reach Budapest, where the competition was, and won 6th place!

After I even started mountaineering– my husband thought it was risky, but I just told him, ‘Risk toh lena hi padhta hai life mein!’ Soon, I followed my passion for music and took up DJing and then took a photography course.

It was simple– I just did everything I loved. So what if I started a little later than usual? At 45, I’m a trainer, a DJ, a mountaineer and a photographer, but most importantly, the happiest version of myself, and that’s really the best advice I can give you– just do whatever the hell makes you happy!”


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