Dara Singh facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Dara Singh
Singh at Pran's birthday party in February 2010
Born	Deedar Singh Randhawa (1928-11-19)19 November 1928 Dharmuchak, Amritsar District, Punjab, British India (now Punjab, India)
Died	12 July 2012(2012-07-12) (aged 83) Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Nationality	Indian
Occupation	Professional wrestler, actor, politician
Years active	1947–1983 (wrestler) 1950–2012 (actor) 2003–2009 (politician)
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Title	Rustam-e-Hind
Political party	Bharatiya Janata Party
Spouse(s)	Bachno Kaur ​ (m. 1942⁠–⁠1952)​ Surjit Kaur ​ (m. 1961)​
Children	6 including; Vindu Dara Singh
Family	See Randhawa family
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Dara Singh
Billed height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Billed weight	127 kg (280 lb)
Billed from	Punjab, India
Trained by	Harnam Singh
Debut	1948
Retired	1983
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
In office 27 August 2003 – 26 August 2009

Dara Singh Randhawa (born Deedar Singh Randhawa; 19 November 1928 – 12 July 2012) was a famous Indian professional wrestler, actor, director, and politician. He began acting in 1952. He was the first sportsman to be chosen for the Rajya Sabha, which is the upper house of India's Parliament.

Dara Singh produced, directed, and wrote Hindi and Punjabi films. He also acted in many movies and TV shows. He is well-known for his amazing winning streak in wrestling around the world. Later, he became a very successful movie star. His role as Hanuman in the film Bajrangbali (1976) and in Ramanand Sagar's TV series Ramayan made him super popular. In 2018, Dara Singh was honored by being added to the WWE Hall of Fame.

Dara Singh's Early Life

Dara Singh was born as Deedar Singh Randhawa on 19 November 1928. His family was Jat Sikh. He was born in the village of Dharmuchak in the Punjab region of India. At that time, India was still ruled by the British.

His Amazing Career

Wrestling Superstar

Singh wrestling King Kong in Japan in 1955

Dara Singh moved to Singapore in 1947. There, he worked in a factory that made drums. He also started his wrestling training under Harnam Singh. As an adult, he was about 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighed around 279 pounds. He was very strong!

Because of his strong body, he was encouraged to learn pehlwani. This is an Indian style of wrestling. He trained in it for several years. After that, he became a professional wrestler. He wrestled against many famous opponents from all over the world. People still remember when he defeated King Kong.

In 1954, Dara Singh won the Rustam-e-Hind (Champion of India) tournament. He beat Tiger Joginder Singh in the final match. In 1959, he won the Commonwealth Championship in Calcutta. On 29 May 1968, he won the World championship in Bombay by beating Lou Thesz. His last wrestling tournament was in Delhi in June 1983, where he announced his retirement.

From Wrestling to Acting

Dara Singh left his village for Singapore in 1948. He started his acting career in 1952 with the film Sangdil. For many years, he acted in stunt films. His first main role was in the film King Kong (1962).

From about 1963, he often worked with actress Mumtaz. They acted in 16 Hindi films together. They became the highest-paid actors in their film category. Dara Singh earned a lot of money for each film.

In the late 1980s, he started acting on television. He played the role of Hanuman in the TV show Ramayan. This role made him very famous. He also acted as Bhima in movies about the Mahabharata. He even played Shiva in some religious films.

His last Hindi movie was Jab We Met. His last Punjabi movie before he got sick was Dil Apna Punjabi. He also directed seven Punjabi films and two Hindi films. He produced these films under his own company, "Dara Film," which he started in 1970.

Dara Studio: A Film Hub

Dara Singh owned a film studio called Dara Studio. It is located in Mohali, Punjab. He started this studio in 1978, and it began making films in 1980.

A Politician Too!

In January 1998, Dara Singh joined the Bharatiya Janata Party. He made history by becoming the first sportsman to be chosen for the Rajya Sabha. This is the upper house of India's Parliament. He served in this role from 2003 to 2009. He was also the president of the Jat Mahasabha.

Comic Book Hero

Dara Singh's son, Vindu Dara Singh, launched a comic book in February 2019. It is called The Epic Journey of the Great Dara Singh.

His Family Life

Dara Singh was married twice. He had three sons and three daughters. His children include Parduman Randhawa and Vindu Dara Singh. His brother, Randhawa, was also a wrestler and an actor.

His Final Days

On 7 July 2012, Dara Singh was taken to the hospital after having a serious heart attack. Two days later, doctors confirmed that his brain was damaged because it didn't get enough blood. He was sent home from the hospital on 11 July 2012. He passed away the next day at his home in Mumbai. He was cremated at Juhu crematorium.

Awards and Honors

In 1996, Dara Singh was added to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame. In 2016, he was listed as one of India's top wrestlers of all time. On 7 April 2018, WWE honored him by adding him to the Class of 2018.

Movies and TV Shows

Films Directed and Produced

Acting Roles

Wrestling Achievements

• World Wide Wrestling Association
  • WWWA World Heavyweight Championship (10 times)
• Maple Leaf Wrestling
  • NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Yukon Eric
• Indian promotions
  • Commonwealth Championship
  • World Wrestling Championship
  • Champion of Malaysia (1951)
  • Rustam-e-Hind (1954)
  • Rustam-e-Punjab (1966)
• Wrestling Observer Newsletter
  • Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)
• WWE
  • WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2018)

Autobiography

• Dara Singh Meri Atmkatha (meaning: My Autobiography by Dara Singh) 1993 Praveen Prakashan