JOIN USKhali moves from wrestling mat to silver screen
His exploits in the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) circuit has turned this former Punjab Police constable into almost a living legend, but “The Great Khali”, originally Dilip Singh Rana, will soon make his Bollywood debut on May 14, in a film named what else but “Kushti” (Wrestling).
His deadpan expression on the wrestling mat, however, might not be useful on the big screen, as he will share screen space with brilliant actor like Om Puri, apart from veterans like Sharat Saxena, Rajpal Yadav and Asrani.
Produced by Venus Films and directed by Rajeev Kumar, “Kushti” is set in a village in northern India obsessed with wrestling, so much so that trusteeship of the village temple is decided by an annual wrestling match.
Khali apparently is not playing a big role in the movie, but its makers are claiming that a wrestling match between the seven-feet-plus giant and the five-feet-nothing Yadav will be both a highlight and a rib-tickling moment in the film.
The film is about Chander the postmaster, played by Yadav, who falls in love with Avtar Singh (Saxena)’s daughter Ladli. Since Chander is afraid of ex-wrestler Singh, he tries to woo her by pretending to be a friend of Salman Khan, whose die-hard fan she is.
“The Great Khali has already proved his wrestling prowess. Now he has to battle it out with a village postman with no wrestling background. Will Khali win yet again or will Chander take over the reins from the WWE champ, is what forms the climax of the film,” says one source involved with the film.