Arnies Guy

Varinder Ghuman is the new pin-up guy of Punjabi films,and he is flexing all the right muscles and making all the right moves.

Written by EXPRESS FEATURES SERVICE
May 22, 2012 03:35 AM IST

3 min read

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Varinder Ghuman is the new pin-up guy of Punjabi films,and he is flexing all the right muscles and making all the right moves. One would,especially when the muscle man,Arnold Schwarzenegger himself has given a thumbs-up. Ghumans Facebook account has Schwarzenegger calling him an amazing talent from India,and even tagging a link to Ghumans first Punjabi film,Kabaddi Once Again directed by Kapil and Rajan Batra. In the film,Ghuman will bypass cricket and go for glory in the game of kabaddi. I play Shinghara Singh in the film, says the 28-year-old body-builder from Jalandhar,who is a gold medalist in the Australian Grand Prix 2011,one of the top rankers in the Mr Universe contest and Captain of the Indian Body Building Team. Among the top rankers at the Arnold Classic Europe,the body-building mega contest of Schwarzenegger,Ghuman also happens to be the first Asian to be ranked a ProSuper in body-building shows worldwide. In fact,he will be endorsing Schwarzeneggers health supplements and gymnasiums in Asia.

Interestingly,Ghuman was a cricket enthusiast himself,and took to body-building after watching a show that featured some of the toughest musclemen when he was 22. It was UK-based Harjinder Singh Dhanoa,who spotted Ghuman and introduced him to National-award winning Punjabi director Sukhminder Dhanjal director of Punjabi film Baghi in 2006. But Kabaddi Once Again happened. It is the story of a village boy Shingara Singh,whose love for kabaddi makes him fight all odds. His girlfriend wants him to quit kabaddi and pursue cricket,but Shingara follows his dream and takes kabaddi to the international arena. The movie also explores the political side of sports. Everyone will connect to the film and it will spread the message of how sports can transform destinies, says Dhanjal. As for Ghuman,People have this impression about pahalwans they are all brawn and muscle,and tongue-tied outside the gym. I have an MA in English and have several music videos to my credit. A six-month course in dance and action at Mumbai taught me the basics and the rest followed, explains Ghuman,who is working on his debut Bollywood venture titled Fateh.