NEW DELHI, INDIA, May 8, 2008: A giant former laborer from India who has become an international wrestling sensation is now a star in his homeland too. The Atlanta-based Dalip Singh Rana, who is from Himachal Pradesh, stands over 7ft tall and weighs nearly 200kg. Nicknamed the “Great Khali”, Rana is a top draw at the hugely popular World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). With some Hollywood work under his belt, he is now looking at offers from Bollywood.
He is the first Indian to be signed up by WWE, and enjoys top billing in the famous American showbiz circus alongside fighters such as Hulk Hogan and The Rock. “Americans could not imagine someone from India in WWE. They are now actually having a lot of fun,” he says. He briefly wrested the world champion’s mantle in 2007 with a series of superlative performances at WWE.
Rana says he is a vegetarian and abhors alcohol and tobacco. He says he lives a “simple life” with his homemaker wife Harminder Kaur . “I have no fancy villa or cars. I live in a simple home and do not have the money to order a customized car that would fit my size,” he says.