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You can hardly call yourself a wrestling fan if you don't know about India's first He-Man. Before WWE and the Great Khali, one Indian made his way into the hearts of all Indians.
Born on 19th November 1928
If you had a phase where you were obsessed with WWE, you'd be too familiar with the names such as The Great Khali, Kane, stone-cold, John Cena, and so many others.
But, if you ever heard your dad scoff at you for watching an orchestrated fighting performance, you're not the only one. Before WWE and the Great Khali, one Indian made his way into the hearts of all Indians.
Dara Singh Randhawa was born in a village in Punjab. Back then, not much emphasis was put on education. Naturally, Dara Singh was told to work on farms and not attend school anymore. Later, while he was still a child, he was coerced to marry a woman older than him.
Some years later, Dara Singh would divorce his wife and marry for a second time, this time, on his terms. But that's a tale for another day.
He went to Singapore in his early 20s and began working at a drum manufacturing mill. As Dara Singh was a tall, well-built personality, he immediately caught everyone's attention. The 6'2" lad from India would be better suited to wrestling.
His mentor, Harnam Singh prepared him for wrestling, and in 1954, Dara Singh won the Rustam-e-Hind title and went on to win the Commonwealth Championship in1959.
Seeing his flair for wrestling, Dara Singh decided to pursue wrestling professionally. He had a successful career. After 500 fights, and defeating some of the biggest names in wrestling, Dara Singh was undoubtedly the king of the sport.
It was Dara Singh's physique that landed him roles in movies. Mostly portrayed as an action hero, Dara Singh was India's 'He-Man'. Though Dara Singh acted in many films, he attempted to move to more refined cinema.
He soon tried his hand at directing and producing movies. His movies' central theme was love and devotion to one's country and explored the partition. Dara Singh also acted in many TV shows, but he is fondly remembered for his role as Hanuman in Ramayana that used to air on Doordarshan.
Gen Z would know him as Geet's Dadaji from Jab We Met. None of us could've imagined that the stern-looking actor was once one of the most renowned wrestlers in the world.
Dara Singh joined the BJP and was nominated to the Rajya Sabha. He remained a member of the Rajya Sabha till 2009.
When Dara Singh was pulled out of school, he probably didn't imagine life would turn out so well for him. He was one of the rare ones who succeeded at any career they pursued.
Dara Singh will always be remembered as one of the greats.
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