Mumbai, Aug 23 (IANS): Tisca Chopra reveals that Anil Kapoor pushed her to lose weight for his debut TV production "24" as he believed that good looks complement good work.

"He has always encouraged me. He came and saw me in a play and said, 'you do good work and keep doing it.' Then when I got signed for the show, he told me, 'you will do a great work if you lose weight. Work hard, good looking, good acting, that is the mantra'," the 39-year-old said here Thursday at the promo launch of the show.

"Sharp at 8 a.m. I would get an sms, 'how is the diet going?' and I would stop eating the whole day," she said.

Anil plays the lead Jai Singh Rathod, the chief of anti-terrorist unit of India in "24", while Tisca plays his wife.

"What was challenging for me was to bring the quality of cinema into the hours of television, to not let go of a single moment of authenticity of that feeling, intensity and to continue it in the structure of television, the hours and all that," she said.

Tisca had been part of TV soaps "Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki".

The serial "24" is an adaptation of the hit US TV series by the same name and Anil was part of the eighth season of the show. The Indian adaptation is being directed by Abhinay Deo. It will go on air in October on Colors TV.

Initially, it will have 24 episodes.