WWE star ‘The Great Khali’ to make his debut in Tollywood

WWE star ‘The Great Khali’ will soon be seen in a new avatar. The popular Indian wrestler is all set to make his acting debut in Tollywood, it has been reported.

Reportedly, Telugu director, Jayanth C Paranji, has lined up the wrestler for a crucial role in his next film titled Narendra.

‘The Great Khali’, whose original name is Dalip Singh Rana, hails from Dhiraina in Himachal Pradesh. The 7-ft-tall wrestler rose to fame with his heroics in the ring at WWE. Before taking to wrestling as a profession, Khali worked as an officer with the Punjab state police.

Apart from his stint as a wrestler, he is also known for his participation in popular TV show Big Boss. ‘The Great Khali’ even marked his screen presence with films like ‘The Longest Yard’, ‘Ramaa: The Saviour’, ‘Get Smart’, ‘MacGruber’, ‘Kushti’, ‘HOUBA! On the trail of Marsupilami’.

Touted to be an intense drama to be shot majorly on the Indo-Pak border, ‘Narendra’ is a boxing drama. Being bankrolled by Eshaan Entertainments, the upcoming Tollywood film is expected to deal with internal relations between the two countries. Apart from ‘The Great Khali’, the film would also feature Izabelle Letti and Nilesh Eti in other pivotal roles.

Reportedly, the 46-year-old felt the role in the sports drama was tailor-made for him. “When the director met him, he was quite excited about the part offered. He was initially hesitant about working on a film in a new language that he didn’t speak or understand but the assurance of Jayanth pushed him to okay the film,” a source shared with DNA.

Director Jayant C Paranji is a known name in the Telugu film fraternity. The filmmaker holds the credit of working with stars like Chiranjeevi, Venkatesh, Mahesh Babu, and Pawan Kalyan in the past. The director is associated with famous Tollywood films such as Shankar Dada MBBS, Jayam Manade Ra, Eeshwar, and Teenmar among others.