The Great Khali: Unfazed by trolls

Trolls, fans and well wishers have been flocking to wrestler-actor The Great Khali’s Instagram to leave hilarious, and some offensive requests, in the comments. Recently this trend caught fire, and now content creators have begun making memes and mimicking Khali on their pages. Although some people have come in Khali’s defence, one can find many verified handles also indulging in some fun at Khali’s cost. But, the wrestler remains unperturbed! “I read the comments and laugh on the funny ones. If I take offence on their comments toh matlab mujhe social media pe aana hi nahi chahiye, subah uth ke mandir jaana chahiye, yoga karna chahiye aur kisi baba ke paas reh ke tapasya karni chahiye (laughs),” quips Khali.

“I’m not insecure about my image, and that’s why I remain unfazed by trolls on my Instagram,” he says elaborating on how he remains calm even when there’s negativity being flung at him from all corners, “I’m not under any pressure to maintain a celebrity image. I don’t wear designer clothes or put photos of visits to five star hotels. Maine life mein bahut kuch dekha hai. I have struggled for 20 years, and often slept on an empty stomach. Roti ke liye bhatka hun… bahut maada (bad) time dekha hai. And I’ve also seen the best of lives that people wish for. That’s why I’m not insecure about my status. People commenting mean things doesn’t upset me because I’m not attached to my celebrity image.”

With comments requesting activities that only humans with super powers could do, social media users have been asking Khali to show extraordinary strength and humour them. Khali, however, understands the fun behind the psyche of people making such requests, and is all up for it, and says: “Sabko lagta hai ki physically, The Great Khali kuch bhi kar sakta hai aur isliye who aise comments kar rahe hai. There’s nothing wrong in that, why should I take that negatively. Aaj ki date me bahut log depressed hai because of the circumstances. I want people to laugh amid the pandemic, even if it is at my expense!”

But his friends from the industry and the showbiz don’t feel the same. As a resultant, Khali has had to counter a lot of backlash for indulging with trolls. “My star friends advise me not to put up photos and captions that invite such comments, and to pose and behave like a celebrity on social media. But I tell them, aakhir The Great Khali bhi toh isnaan hai… I want to live a normal life and want to remain connected with everyone. I don’t believe in having the airs of a star. I will be connecting more and more with my followers in the future.”

The 48-year-old wrestler who recently got received the Hall of Fame — a renowned wrestling award — has something to say to all his fans commenting on his photos: “Koi bhi comment karna ho toh woh maryada mein karo. Agar aap ache comment karte ho toh good for you and me. Agar aap galat karte ho to use mujhe koi nuksaan nahi hoga. Gaaliyo se ya bure comments se mera wajood nahi mitega. Enjoy karo, and if you feel happy by putting good comments do that. If you feel happy with putting bad comments, do that. Lekin khush raho!”

Khali served as a security guard, and was in the police force. And he has also shot a film with Hollywood actor Adam Sandler while making a big name for himself in WWE. “Maine kaam kiya hai, majdoori kari hai, struggle kiya hai aur yeh seekha hai ki logo mein ek doosre ke liye insaaniyat honi chahiye, aur respect honi chahiye. Agar hum celebrity ho kar jhoota tam jhaam karke ek alag image banana ki koshish karenge, toh life ke liye who sahi nahi hai. People comment and connect with me because of how relatable, real and original my photos and activities are on social media. I don’t put fancy photos and captions. I want to show my real and raw life. I handle my own social media, unlike other celebrities who have dedicated teams who manage their social media.”

In his struggling days, Khali’s key lessons in life have been to wait for the best is yet to come. “When I was a security guard and got the news of being selected to the police force, I thought that it was my biggest achievement. But life went on to unravel so many more opportunities. Therefore, never develop an ego about your current circumstances or role; you have many more mountains to scale. Be simple and humble. I learnt this from Adam Sandler. When I was working on a movie with him, I saw that he used to come to the sets in shorts and T-shirt despite being such a huge celebrity. Others used to be in suits, but he always treated his work as work and not as an ego boosting activity. Respect sirf kaam se milti hai, celebrity ban ne se nahi!”

And what’s keeping Khali occupied amid the pandemic? “Fighting corona, spreading laughter and building training academies,” he shares, adding, “I got diagnosed with Covid two months back, but I managed to recover. I was quarantining at home and tried to remain positive and laugh a lot despite the weakness. I feel that really helped me. And I want others to remain happy too, even if they derive this happiness out of abusing me on my social media. There’s also a wrestling training academy coming up in Karnal, Haryana where I spend most of my time training young athletes. I want to motivate depressed youngsters by encouraging them to play sports and make their family proud. That’s why I put out videos of wrestling that I film in my academy.”

Author tweets @FizzyBuddha

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