^{Clockwise from left: Salman Khan (Image courtesy: T-Series), Shah Rukh Khan (Image courtesy: Red Chillies Entertainment, Hrithik Roshan (Image courtesy: Dabboo Ratnani photography, Duniya Vijay, Allu Arjun (Image courtesy: DVV Entertainment) and Suriya (Image courtesy: Behindwoods)}

It’s rare to come across an Indian action flick without the male lead taking his shirt off and flaunting his ripped abs in at least one scene. Instagram profiles of the latest generation of Indian movie stars have pictures of them showing off their six-pack abs, either due to the nature of their roles in films under production, their lifestyle or peer pressure. It’s incredibly easy to say which actors haven’t showcased their chiselled abs yet than count the ones that did.

In a world where we have an abundance of actors sporting six-pack abs today, it’s very easy to forget where it all started. So Cinemania took a leap into the past to explore at what point of time Indian cinema’s obsession with six-pack abs began.

Sanjay Dutt was the one of first actors in Indian cinema to show off his ripped body in the early 1990s and motivate his colleagues to hit the gym.

Sunil Shetty, who made his Bollywood debut with Balwaan in 1992 that released three weeks before Dutt’s Yalgaan, also gained attention for his fitness.

As the fitness revolution spread across the Hindi film industry, several upcoming stars at that time including Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan made it a point to take off their shirts and flaunt their bodies in action films.

Salman Khan is the first Indian actor to showcase six-pack abs in films. The actor flaunted his chiselled abs in a song “O O Jaane Jaana” from the 1998 blockbuster “Pyar Kiya Toh Darna Kya” starring himself and Kajol, however not many paid attention to his abs back then.

Hrithik Roshan’s biceps gained more focus than his abs when he made his acting debut with Kaho Na Pyaar Hai (2000) that was helmed by his father Rakesh Roshan.

John Abraham, who made his debut with erotic-thriller “Jism” in 2003, also flaunted his chiselled abs but they weren’t given as much attention as that was given to his co-star from the film (Bipasha Basu) who stole all the limelight.

Allu Arjun is the first South Indian actor to flaunt six-pack abs in his 2007 Telugu blockbuster Desamuduru, directed by Puri Jagannadh.

Shah Rukh Khan is the first Bollywood actor to publicize six-pack abs through his song “Dard-e-Disco” in Farah Khan’s Om Shanti Om (2007). Billboard posters of the film with the lead actor flaunting his chiselled abs became a talking point and made “six-pack abs” a must-have in Bollywood films to come.

Suriya is the first Tamil actor to develop six-pack abs for Gautam Menon-directorial Vaaranam Aayiram (2008).

Vijay is the first Kannada actor to showcase chiselled abs in Duniya (2007), his first feature film as the male lead.

A number of Indian actors flaunt their chiselled abs today. Tiger Shroff is the most popular of them, regularly showing off his 10-pack abs in films and on Instagram.