By Jagmohan Singh Barhok
On His Birth Anniversary
Dara Singh, noted Indian wrestler, producer & actor Born at Dharmu Chak in Amritsar District Dara Singh Randhawa worked in a factory before he took to wrestling in late 1940s in Singapore. He defeated Malaysian Champion Tarlok Singh followed by his victory over Tiger Joginder Singh to become Indian Wrestling Champion in early 1950s.Singh rose to starry heights after he became Rustom-E- Hind as he wrestled with the then African Champ Prince Kumali & Lou Thesz of USA to become World Champ.
I knew the actor-wrestler Dara Singh at the age of 10 & saw his first film in 1962 at Capital cinema, Ambala.I saw his many bouts at Patiala, Frozepur, Kanpur,Delhi & Bombay. Visited Dara Villa five-six times starting in 1976 and later 1982,85 88 & later during a party thereat. I also saw him wrestle with some masked and unmasked foreign wrestlers besides Tiger Joginder Singh & Saudagar Singh live in India. His Best bout was seen at Delhi Stadium in early 1970s opposite Majid Akra of Pakistan.
Known for his simplicity sans arrogance, the noted wrestler made inroads into films in early 1950s ( Sangdil & Pehli Jhalak), albeit brief. He joined the industry as an actor in early 1960s and featured in a number of films starting with King King Kong, Faulad, Rustom-E-Baghdad, Awara Abdulla, Aaya Toofan, Jagga, Lutera & Sikandar-E-Azam with Nishi, Indira Billi & Mumtaz. Also featured in ‘Mera Naam Joker’, ‘Dharmatma’, ‘Karma’ & ‘Elaan-E-Jang’.
Dara Singh worked in many Punjabi films and also directed a few including ‘Nanak Dukhiya Sub Sansar'(1970) & ‘Sawa Lakh Se Ek Ladaun'(1976). Became a household name with TV serial Mahabharat & later did play almost similar roles in other serials. Shahid Kapoor
& Kareena Kapoor starrer ‘Jab We Met’ was his last Hindi film. He also helped many Indian wrestlers & artists earn their livelihood. Trained by Harnam Singh, the wrestler who stood 6 feet 2 inch was agile & sturdy.
