BANGALORE: From our country comes a man who likes to break things, things that usually cannot be broken. Manoj Chopra isn’t like the rest. His dreams involve strength, power, weight and a whole lot of will power — and that’s what he showed the students at Kendriya Vidyalaya, where he conducted a live show for the students. Manoj is the only Indian to have participated in the WWF. He tells City Express about the journey so far.Manoj started his quest as a gold medalist for Madhya Pradesh in 1986 in powerlifting and weightlifting. During the same time he was involved in modeling too. To make a mark in that, he won the Mr M P award in a beauty contest, after which he joined a gym and trained to be a representative of Madhya Pradesh in power-lifting and weight-lifting. But when the dark clouds gathered over the horizon, he moved back to Bangalore and started a travel agency here. The agency failed his expectations and was shut for good.One day while he was watching the World Strongest Man show on television he observed various national flags. But the Indian flag was missing. He says, “I wanted to do something about it.” Practicing for more than eight years in 2004, Manoj created history by coming 14th at the Strongman World Cup held in Canada. “The event had more than 290 countries with a large number of participation,” he recalls.Manoj’s determination towards the sport was seen and observed by WWF. He soon started training in the art of trick-fighting, putting up a number of fights for all the wrestling fans. But his dream was again prevented due to financial crisis in his family. He says “Practicing in California for 18 months was truly unforgettable and I attained a lot from that training.” Apart from this Manoj has carved a niche for himself by being ‘the strong man of Asia‘ for four years and. He has also held the title, ‘The Strong Man of India’ for the past seven years.Over several years, through live demonstrations, he has broken thousands of number plates of cars, changed the shape of frying pans and also broken various kinds of tools in seconds. “I gave a lot of demonstrations in jails,’ he says. He says he visited these jails because he wanted to educated the prisoners and leave them with this message, “I use my strength for a good cause, even you should do that”. He also says, “The people are happy with the attitude I have while I’m performing, and they always call me back for more.” He has also performed in front of Police and Army officers. The officers were shocked with his ability to break handcuff in front of their eyes among many other things. Manoj says that his favourite act is lifting a car and flipping it.During one of his performance a Brigadier named Guldip Singh asked him to perform at a school for children as an entertainer and a motivator. Manoj put up a show at Kendriya Vidyalaya on Tuesday in front of more than 3,000 children. He was joined by his son Aishitosh Chopra and his teammate Ajay. Like always he broke a few number plates, baseball bats, tools and performed his trick with the frying pan. His son demonstrated the strength of his lungs by blasting a hotwater bag like a balloon by blowing into it. His son who is just 17 years old and weighs over 150 pounds is following the footsteps of his father. Manoj, to wrap up the show called 10 boys and 10 girls from the crowd and had a ‘tug of war’. The students were no match for his strength. Manoj addressed the students saying, “Say no to drugs, say yes to life and live a happy life.” “The students come and feel my biceps thinking that all my strength is stored there. I tell them I’m not unique. I eat regular food and do not take drugs . Even you can be strong by practising regularly.” Manoj is looking forward to performing in colleges and schools across Karnataka, to spread the word of saying no to substance abuse.
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