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Daily News
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He’s Super-Khali-Fragilistic
After small roles in The Longest Yard and this summer’s Get Smart, a freak of Indian nature and WWE marketing is ready for his Bollywood close-up.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008 at 1:40 PM
By FilmStew Staff
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WWE
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The Indian kids love him more than their cricket heroes
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It’s hard to convey just how popular WWE wrestler Dalip Singh Rana, a.k.a. The Great Khali, is in his native India. But if you can imagine in U.S. terms the attention that follows Paris Hilton re-directed at a guy who looks like Shaquille O’Neal, then you begin to comprehend the manner in which the 35-year-old 7’ 3” giant’s every move is being chronicled by the local media.
The frenzy has reached a new fever pitch thanks to the former Punjab police officer's return visit to promote a local sports channel, meet with dignitaries and explore all manner of transcontinental business opportunities. The latest round of breathless coverage hasd drilled down to such warm and cuddly levels as the fact that the only person Khali fears is God and the notion that he wants to build both a school and a WWE training facility in Mumbai.
Furthermore, according to the website MyNews.in, Khali has snagged a $300,000 payday to play the lead in the children’s film Ramma – The Savior. Though relatively minor an amount on the A-list Hollywood industry scale, the six-figure sum is huge by Bollywood standards.
Given the fact that Khali is known to consume 24 raw eggs per day, perhaps one of the other projects he should consider is an India-tinged, wrestling-set version of Rocky, featuring of course a character that made do at dawn with a half-dozen on the raw shell. Banking on the acting skills he has perfected in the WWE ring, he could find his way to a Bollywood version of Rocky Balboa's famous romantic lament. Something perhaps along the lines of “Adhira… Adhiraaaaa!”
Or, if the Broccoli clan ever decide to nudge Daniel Craig in the Roger Moore direction, then Khali as a villain's henchman could pick up where the 7' 2" Richard Kiel left off in 1979's Moonraker.
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