Dara Singh Randhawa (born Deedar Singh Randhawa; 19 November 1928 – 12 July 2012) was an

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. He started acting in 1952 and was the first sportsman to be nominated to the

Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...

(upper house) of India. He worked as Hindi and Punjabi film producer, director and writer, and he acted in films and television. His role of

Hanuman Hanuman (; sa, हनुमान, ), also called Anjaneya (), is a Hindu god and a divine '' vanara'' companion of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is an ardent devotee of Rama and on ...

in the film ''

Bajrangbali Hanuman (; sa, हनुमान, ), also called Anjaneya (), is a Hindu god and a divine ''vanara'' companion of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is an ardent devotee of Rama and one ...

'' (1976) and in

Ramanand Sagar Chandramauli Chopra ( ; 29 December 1917 – 12 December 2005) known professionally as Ramanand Sagar, was an Indian filmmaker, editor, playwright, poet and an author. He is best known for making the television show '' Ramayan'' (1987-1988). The ...

's ''

Ramayan The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages ...

'' made him popular. Singh was inducted into the Legacy wing of the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2018.

Early life

Singh was born in a

Jat Sikh Jat Sikh (also known by the more conventional endonym Jatt Sikh) is a sub-group of the Jat people and the Sikh religious group from the Indian subcontinent. They are one of the dominant communities in the Punjab owing to their large land holdin ...

family as Deedar Singh Randhawa to Surat Singh Randawa and Balwant Kaur on 19 November 1928 in the village of Dharmuchak in the Majha area of the

Punjab region Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...

of India. At the time, it was still under

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

colonial rule.

Career

Professional wrestling

He came to

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

in 1947, where he worked in a

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

-manufacturing mill and began his wrestling training under Harnam Singh in the Great World Stadium. As an adult he was tall, weighed and had a chest measurement of . Due to his physique, he was encouraged to take up

pehlwani Pehlwani, (पहलवानी) also known as Kushti, is a form of wrestling contested in South Asia. It was developed in the Mughal Empire by combining Persian Koshti pahlevani with influences from native Indian Malla-yuddha. The words ''pe ...

, an Indian style of wrestling, in which he trained for several years. After switching to

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

, he competed around the world with opponents such as

Bill Verna Bill Verna (born 1929), also known as Big Bill Verna, was an Australian professional wrestler. He wrestled throughout the world during his 20-year career, especially in his adopted country of Great Britain, winning the All European Championship ...

, Firpo Zbyszko,

John Da Silva John Walter da Silva (11 June 1934 – 8 April 2021) was a New Zealand wrestler and boxer. Biography Da Silva was born on 11 June 1934. He represented New Zealand in wrestling at the 1956 Olympics and at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwe ...

Rikidōzan (born Kim Sin-rak; ; November 14, 1924 – December 15, 1963), better known as Rikidōzan (), was a Korean-born Japanese wrestler who competed in sumo and professional wrestling. He was known as The Father of Puroresu, and one of the most inf ...

, Danny Lynch and

Ski Hi Lee A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partial ...

. His flooring of King Kong is still remembered. In 1951, Dara Singh lost a match in Greco-Roman style against Brahmdev Mishra of Gorakhpur in a stadium located at Dahrmtalla maidan

Culcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, commer ...

. In 1954, Dara competed in the Rustam-e-Hind (Champion of India) tournament where he won the final by defeating

Tiger Joginder Singh Joginder Singh (1919-August 1, 1990) was an Indian professional wrestler. He was the first All Asia Tag Team Champion, along with King Kong. He was one of the top professional wrestlers of India at that time. Early life He was born in villa ...

and received a silver cup from Maharaja Hari Singh. In 1959, he won the Commonwealth Championship by defeating George Gordienko at Calcutta. On 29 May 1968 in Bombay, his victory over Lou Thesz earned him the

World championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

. According to Thesz, Singh was "an authentic wrestler, was superbly conditioned" and had no problem losing to the latter. His last tournament, where he announced his retirement, was held in Delhi in June 1983.

Films and television

Singh left his village for Singapore in 1948. He started his career as an actor in 1952 with '' Sangdil''. He was a stunt film actor for many years and played his first lead role in Babubhai Mistry's film ''King Kong'' (1962). From around 1963, he partnered often with Mumtaz, with whom he performed in 16 Hindi films. The couple became the highest-paid B-grade actors, with Singh receiving nearly four

lakh A lakh (; abbreviated L; sometimes written lac) is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand (100,000; scientific notation: 105). In the Indian 2,2,3 convention of digit grouping, it is written as 1,00,000. For ex ...

rupee Rupee is the common name for the currencies of India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Africa, B ...

s per film. He then went on to do television in the late 1980s, where he played the role of

in the television adaptation of the Hindu epic ''

''. He also had roles in numerous films, such as ''Veer Bheem Sen'' and ''Ramayan'', and in other television serials. He starred as

Bhima In Hindu epic Mahabharata, Bhima ( sa, भीम, ) is the second among the five Pandavas. The ''Mahabharata'' relates many events that portray the might of Bhima. Bhima was born when Vayu, the wind god, granted a son to Kunti and Pandu. Af ...

in various

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

movies, besides also playing Balram, he also starred as

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

in various theological movies. His last Hindi movie was '' Jab We Met'' and the last Punjabi movie released before his illness was '' Dil Apna Punjabi''. He acted in National Award-winning film ''Main Maa Punjab Dee'' directed by Balwant Singh Dullat. He directed seven Punjabi films including ''Sawa Lakh Se Ek Ladaun'', ''Nanak Dukhiya Sub Sansar'', ''Dhyanu Bhagat'' and ''Rab Dian Rakhan''. He also directed two films in Hindi; ''Bhakti Mein Shakti'' and ''Rustom'' (1982), which were produced and directed under the banner "Dara Film" which he set up in 1970. Singh acted as himself in the 1985 Malayalam film ''

Mutharamkunnu P.O. ''Mutharamkunnu P.O.'' is a 1985 Indian Malayalam-language romantic comedy film directed by Sibi Malayil (in his directorial debut) from a screenplay by Sreenivasan based on a story by Jagadish. It stars Mukesh (actor), Mukesh, Lizy (actress), ...

''.

Dara Studio

Singh was the owner of Dara Studio at Phase 6, Mohali City, District SAS Nagar, Punjab. Dara Film Studio was founded in 1978. The studio was operational from 1980 as a film studio.

Politics

Singh joined the

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...

in January 1998. He became the first sportsperson to be nominated to the Rajya Sabha – the

upper house An upper house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smalle ...

of the

Parliament of India The Parliament of India (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameralism, bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the R ...

. He served in that role between 2003 and 2009. He was also president of the

Jat Mahasabha Akhil Bhartiya JAT Mahasabha ( hi, अखिल भारतीय जाट महासभा) or ( hi, अखिल भारतीय जाट महासभा) is an organization of Jats in India. The organization was created to raise awa ...

Comics

Singh's son Vindu Dara Singh, launched first comic book ''The Epic Journey of the Great Dara Singh'' at

Oxford Bookstore The Oxford Bookstore, formerly known as Oxford Bookstore and Stationery Company, is an Indian book store chain established in 1920. It has no connection with Oxford University Press. Its outlets, on prime locations in the high streets of most of ...

in New Delhi in February 2019.

Personal life

Singh married twice. He had three sons and three daughters, including

Vindu Dara Singh Vindu Dara Singh (born Virender Singh Randhawa; 6 May 1964) is an Indian actor who does Hindi and Punjabi television films. He is the winner of the third season of ''Bigg Boss''. Before this, In 1996 he played the role of Lord Hanuman in ''J ...

. His brother

Randhawa Randhawa is a Jat clan in the Punjab Region of India and Pakistan. The Randhawa name has special significance in the history of the Sikh faith, the first appointed Granthi (Principal religious official and custodian of the holy book- Guru Gran ...

was also a wrestler and actor.

Death

Singh was admitted into

Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital is a tertiary-care hospital in Four Bungalows, Mumbai, India. The hospital is named after Kokilaben Ambani, wife of industrialist Dhirubhai Ambani, who was the founder of Reliance Industries. History The 75 ...

on 7 July 2012 following a massive

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

. Two days later, it was confirmed that he had brain damage due to the lack of blood flow. He was discharged from hospital on 11 July 2012, citing that nothing can be done to prolong life, and died the next day at his home in Mumbai. He was

cremated Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre i ...

Juhu Juhu (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, ͡ʒuɦuː is a posh and upmarket neighbourhood of Mumbai. It is known for the sprawling Juhu Beach. It is surrounded by the Arabian Sea to the west, Versova (Mumbai), Versova to the north, Vile Parle to ...

crematorium.

Awards and recognition

In 1996, Singh was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame. He was ranked 94 out of 100 wrestlers for Dave Meltzer's Top 100 Wrestlers of all time in 2002. In 2016, Dara was included in the list India's top wrestlers of all time. On 7 April 2018,

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

inducted him in WWE Hall of Fame Legacy

class of 2018 ''Class of 2018'' is a 2018 Filipino teen suspense–thriller film directed by Charliebebs Gohetia. It stars Sharlene San Pedro and Nash Aguas. The film was produced and distributed by T-Rex Entertainment. It premiered in the Philippines on Nove ...

Filmography

Championships and accomplishments

*World Wide Wrestling Association **WWWA World Heavyweight Championship * Maple Leaf Wrestling ** NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Yukon Eric * Indian promotions **Commonwealth Championship (1959) **

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

(1968) **Champion of Malaysia (1951) **Rustam-e-Hind (1954) **Rustam-e-Punjab (1966) *

Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four We ...

** Hall of Fame (Class of 1996) *

** WWE Hall of Fame (

Class of 2018 ''Class of 2018'' is a 2018 Filipino teen suspense–thriller film directed by Charliebebs Gohetia. It stars Sharlene San Pedro and Nash Aguas. The film was produced and distributed by T-Rex Entertainment. It premiered in the Philippines on Nove ...

)

References

Autobiography

* Dara Singh ''Meri Atmkatha'' (en. My Autobiography by Dara Singh) 1993 Praveen Prakashan

External links

Official Website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Dara 20th-century Indian people 20th-century Indian male actors 21st-century Indian male actors 1928 births 2012 deaths Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Punjab Film directors from Mumbai Film producers from Mumbai Hindi film producers Hindi-language film directors Indian actor-politicians Indian male film actors Indian male professional wrestlers Indian male television actors Male actors from Mumbai Male actors in Hindi cinema Male actors in Malayalam cinema Male actors in Punjabi cinema Nominated members of the Rajya Sabha Politicians from Mumbai Punjabi Sikhs Sportspeople from Amritsar district WWE Hall of Fame Legacy inductees Professional wrestlers from Punjab, India 20th-century male professional wrestlers NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Champions People from Punjab Province (British India)