As a boxer, "Iron Mike" Tyson was known for pulverising his opponents with his power rather than dazzling them with his agility. Now Bollywood wants to develop his rather leaden footwork by casting him in a new action film later this month.

The Mumbai film producer Firoz Nadiadwala, whose last movie Phir Hera Pheri - More Fraud - was a big hit in India, is lining up Tyson for a dance sequence in his upcoming film Fool-n-Final.

The movie features Indian actors best known for playing tough guys, but none are likely to be a match for the fighter once known as "the baddest man on the planet".

Although not critically acclaimed, India's film industry has become widely successful in recent years. Tyson's Bollywood pay packet has not been revealed but the former boxer could use the money. After squandering almost $300m and declaring bankruptcy in 2003, the 40-year-old has been on the lookout for ways of earning a living without using his fists.

Tyson's own story reads like a movie script. In his prime, he was among the most intimidating fighters ever, winning his first 37 fights, many of them by devastating knockouts. He won the world heavyweight title in 1986, becoming the youngest champion in history.

But the troubled boxer was ill-equipped to deal with the fame and attention. Losing the crown in 1990, he was convicted two years later of raping a beauty queen in a hotel room. Tyson served three years of a six-year sentence. On his return to the ring, he ended up banned for a year for biting Evander Holyfield's ear during a 1997 fight.

Even with new opportunities opening up for him in India, there appears no happy ending in sight for Tyson. He is scheduled to stand trial over drug charges in a US court in August.