An icon to the Indians, a passionate wrestler and a great actor, Dara Singh Randhawa passed away today. The actor, who took hand fight to a different level, will always be remembered on this day.
Born to a Jat Sikh family in Punjab, Dara was always encouraged in wrestling due to his massive physique. As a kid he worked in the farm with his family, but as he grew older he took up the study of Pehlwani, an Indian style of wrestling, in the sand wrestling pits called akharas.
A famous competitor in India, he was usually invited by kings and Indian princely states. He also entertained the crowd by frequently performing in haats and melas (fairs and carnivals).
He successfully competed against some of the greatest names in wrestling history and professional wrestlers in the United States. He retired from wrestling in the year 1983, undefeated.
Dara started his acting career in the year 1962. He played the lead in a large number of Hindi films. Mumtaz, one of the most notable actress of his time was paired opposite him. Later in the 1980's and 1990's he went on to doing television shows. Two most important shows that he is recognised for is 'Had Kar Di', and playing the role of Hanuman in the adaptation of the Hindu epic 'Ramayana'.
The latest Hindi movies that he has stared in are 'Kal Ho Naa Ho', 'Jab We Met' and also in the Punjabi movie 'Dil Apna Punjabi'.
Dara Singh, fell ill and was admitted in the hospital on 7th July, 2012 but the doctors confirmed that he was critical. His family decided to take him home, even though he was on a ventilator and a doctor and nurse were supervising his condition. He passed away this morning at his Mumbai residence.
While the entire film industry are mourning the death of a great star, here are a few tweets by our celebs paying a tribute to Dara Singh.
Amitabh Bachchan: "T 802 - Dara Singh ji passed away this morning. A great Indian and one of the finest humans..An entire era of his celebrated presence gone !"
Shah Rukh Khan: "Wrestlers r made of sweat,determination & a hard to find alloy called guts...most apt for Dara Singhji our very own Superman.Will miss u sir."
Bipasha Basu: "RIP Dara Singh Ji!"
Farah Khan: "The gentlest giant is no more.Dara uncle the 1st ever action hero of our country,rest in peace."
Rana Daggubati: "RIP Dara Singh!! Our childhood hero no more!!"
Mahesh Bhatt: "Dara Singh passes away!Memories of this warm 'pehlwan' turned actor flicker in my memory.When childhood heroes die the world looks desolate."
Shekhar Kapur: "RIPDaraSingh At grand old age he used to stride down juhu beach, body erect, smile on his face at a pace faster than 20 yr olds."
Madhur Bhandarkar: "RIP Rustam-e-Hind. The strong man of India will be miss dearly."
Sujoy Ghosh: "My dad made me watch most of Dara Singh's b&w films. them were the adventures, esp Faulaad. I believed everything Dara Singh did. He could."
Our heart felt sympathies go out to his entire family.