By Habib Beary BBC correspondent in Bangalore

Manoj tears into a phonebook

His muscles break open handcuffs and shatter metal frying-pans.

And when he stomps out of his house, the bustling neighbourhood comes to a standstill.

Muscleman Manoj Chopra is a hero in the Indian town of Bangalore, where his habit of lifting cars in the air and shattering stone slabs has earned him the nickname, Bheema - after a burly warrior from the Indian epic, Mahabharat.

Now he is off to California, as the first Indian to train with World Wrestling Entertainment, the biggest, most glamorous federation in the wrestling world.

Wrestling in the limelight

Bheema from Bangalore could soon be taking his place alongside the wrestling federation's superstars - fearsome men with names like The Rock, Stone Cold and Hulk Hogan.

He will learn to perform before live audiences and TV cameras, and to play his part in a multi-million dollar industry that fuses showbiz with sport.

The 34-year-old father of two recalls how his physique marked him out for sports from an early age.

He started off as goalkeeper for the school football team - but stopped because his kicks kept sending the ball out of the grounds.

Manoj exhaling 300 pounds of air in one go to burst a hot water bottle

Now he gets his kicks from entertaining others. On a trip to Egypt, he wowed hundreds of children with his strength.

"Even though I was sweating, they didn't mind kissing me. I cannot forget these memories," the smiling, 6-foot 5-inch giant told the BBC.

Manoj also had a brief stint as a sumo-wrestler in the US. He weighs a staggering 142 kilograms - and a glance at his diet shows why.

Working up an appetite

A typical breakfast is a pound of bread and 12 eggs. Lunch is three plates of biryani - Manoj likes his north-Indian "Mughlai" food.

After a sumptuous dinner, though, it's time to exercise.

Every evening, Manoj spends three hours working out with his team - and working up an appetite for the next day.

Manoj is also busy raising sponsorship for his seven-month training in the US. He hopes to attract the attention of the government, big corporations and Bollywood, and believes it is only a matter of time before he lands a film role.

"With God's blessings, I want to make it big," he says.