Muscle man

He can lift a 75-pound weight with one finger, to a height above his head. With a handkerchief or piece of cloth folded to cover his eye, he bends an iron rod, using the pressure of the area of the eye socket and the nose bone. "I am aiming for the Limca Book of Records for this feat,” says strongman Farokh Tatary.

Working in tandem with his father Rumi, who also used to per­form feats of strength earlier, Farokh’s 15-minute shows generally leave his audience in shock and awe. As he lies flat, Rumi breaks with a sledgehammer a heavy laadi (the kind of stone used for pave­ments, Farokh explains) placed on Farokh’s chest, or throws knives on his stomach. "Oh, the knives are pointed and very sharp. They are first thrown into wood to demonstrate their sharpness,” Farokh elaborates. While admitting that there is "some amount of risk,” Farokh believes "anyone can do what I am doing. What you need is guts, sheer determination and some power.”

Tatary: guts and determination

Tatary has made a recent comeback to performing in public, after a long hiatus of 12 years. "I got into shape for my first show at the beginning of this year after just a month’s training. I needed to rebuild strength; confidence was good,” he asserts. Ta­tary’s first show was in 1985 and continued upto 1993 when he married. Wife Jasmine was apprehensive for his safety and it was only recently, when 11-year-old daughter Delna evinced an interest in seeing what she had only heard about earlier, did Farokh take once again to displaying sinew and stamina. "I am going to continue. I have already been in touch with film producers and directors. They said they would give me an opportunity to perform at the Filmfare awards. Things are going to work out,” says the 36-year-old who works as assistant manager with James Mackintosh and Company in Bombay.

Suffering from leucoderma from an early age, Tatary’s memories of his schooldays are not happy ones. Studies did not hold much enchantment. He started the building up of physical strength from his teens. Good at wrestling, he picked up two prizes at the state level in different categories in Indian style wrestling. Karate lessons with Sensei Parvez Mistry buttressed his strength. "My late mother Meheroo was my main inspiration,” Farokh declares, adding that "my father was even more credible than me in his youth,” having given shows till 1985, performing what he terms "Bruce Lee stunts” as well.

Describing himself as a "hot tempered person who gets angry very fast and who cannot take any nonsense,” Tatary remains calm during his shows, even when the unexpected happens. "There is com­plete concentration. I have to keep my cool,” says the 93-kilo muscle man who is now aiming at bending not one, but two iron rods at the same time, one with each eye and is considering other risky feats as well.