Biography: Dara Singh, the World Champion Wrestler

Dara Singh has fought various fights and tournaments in India and will always be an inspiration for Indian wrestlers. He has great fan following and was also nominated as member of Rajya Sabha during the period of August 2003 to 2009 by Bhartiya Janta Party. Famous as a wrestler and the portrayal of 'Hanuman' in the television adaptation of Hindu epic Ramayana, the 83 year old Dara Singh suffered a cardiac arrest on July 7 after which he was admitted in a critical condition in the Kokilaben Dhirubai Ambani Hospital in Mumbai. He died on July 12, 2012.

Birth & early years of Dara Singh

Born on 19 November 1928 in a small village, Dharmoochak in Amritsar district of Punjab, Dara Singh Randhawa is the son of Balwant Kaur and Surat Singh Randhawa. He is a Jat Sikh by cast and had massive physique since early years which brought him to the field of wrestling. He studied Pehlwani, an Indian style of wrestling in which wrestlers play their skills in the milked sand pits called akhara. As a child he used to help his father working at farm and on invitation of kings of princely states, wrestled frequently in fairs and carnivals.

Wrestling Career of Dara Singh

Dara Singh became a favourite in Indian wrestling tournaments. He started going on international tournaments, emerged as the wrestling face of India and won enormous pride and prestige to the nation. As a wrestler, he competed some of the greatest names in United States & other countries.

Famous fights & tournaments of Dara Singh

Dara Singh has fought over 500 professional fights in his career and that too all undefeated. His top fights include victory over Champion of Pakistan Mazid Akra, Tariq Ali and Shane Ali, African Champion Prince Kumali, Japanese Rikidozan, European Champion Bill Robinson, Champion of England Patroch, David Taylor, Man Mountain Jack, , Danny Lynch, George Burgers, Lee, Caswell Jack and Sky Hi, all in their own home countries. Many politicians including Jawaharlal Nehru, Chaudhary Charan Singh, Chandrashekhar, Morarji Desai, Rajiv and President of India Giani Zail Singh used to visit his fights with great enthusiasm.
Details of some of these fights and tournaments are mentioned below.

Malaysian Championship - Dara Singh went to Singapore in 1947 and defeated Tarlok Singh in Kuala Lumpur bringing to his name Championship of Malaysia in Indian style wrestling.

Indian Championship – After touring almost all far-east countries, Dara Singh returned to India in 1952 and fought a series of professional fights. He was already the favourite and well known in masses. He emerged as the Indian Champion in 1954.

Champion of Commonwealth games – Dara Singh toured all Commonwealth countries and defeated the great champions like Oriental Champion King Kong, George Gordienko of Canada and John Desilva of New Zealand in the Commonwealth games. The fight with King Kong has been a major victory and is still cherished today by the wrestling lovers. In 1959, he became the Commonwealth Champion from India.

Champion of World – Dara Singh toured all over the world and participated in wrestling championships. It was the victory over the famous Lou Thesz of America on 29 May 1968 that made him Champion of the World. His victory marked a landmark for Indian wrestlers. Till 1983, Dara Singh participated in wrestling championships and never got defeated even once, thus defending his world championship.

Acting Career of Dara Singh

Dara Singh started acting in Hindi films in 1962 much before his retirement from wrestling in1983. He worked in over 100 films and was the Action King of Bollywood till the1970s. He was also seen in the much recent movies like Jab We Met, Dil Apna Punjabi and the National Award winner film Main Maa Punjab Dee. He started the trend of taking off the shirt which continues till movies of this age. One great landmark in his popularity and mass support was playing the role of Hanuman in the television serial Ramayan, adaptation of the Hindu epic. He also worked in shows like Had Kar Di on ZeeTV. He was equally successful on television as in cinema.

Directorial Career of Dara Singh

Apart from acting in movies, he also made many. Dara Singh founded the Dara Film Studio at Mohali, Punjab in 1978. It is a fully equipped film studio with all facilities like Camera Equipment, Nagra Lights & Cables and is popular for various Bollywood shootings. He directed many movies like Rustom, Bhakti Mein Shakti, Dhyanu Bhagat, Sawa Lakh Se Ek Ladaun, Bhagat Dhanna Jatt, Mera Desh Mera Dharam and Nanak Dukhiya Sub Sansar. He found the actress Mumtaz who became a huge success. He performed in 16 Hindi movies with Mumtaz. He also produced movies like Karan and Bhakti Mein Shakti.

Personal Life of Dara Singh

Dara Singh is married twice with a son, Parduman Singh Randhawa from his first marriage and three daughters & two sons from second marriage. He has six children in total. Actor Vidhu Dara Singh was born to Dara Singh's second marriage. Dara Singh has always been modest on his success and has a great fan following.

Death of Dara Singh

Dara Singh was rushed to the Kokilaben Dhirubai Ambani Hospital in Mumbai on July 7 when he suffered a cardiac arrest. His condition remained critical and the whole nation prayed for its beloved Dara Singh's good health.Unfortunately Dara Singh died on July 12, 2012. His death is a huge loss to the nation.