Dara Singh Randhawa, born Deedar Singh Randhawa on November 19, 1928, was a multifaceted individual who left an indelible mark on the world of wrestling, film, and television. He was a wrestler, actor, director, producer, and even a Member of Parliament. Encouraged to take up pehelwani from an early age, he began his wrestling career in Singapore in 1949 and went on to make a name for himself in the world of cinema, starting his film career in 1952 with the movie Sangdil.
Born in the village of Dharmuchak in Amritsar, Punjab, Dara Singh Randhawa hailed from a humble background. Despite facing numerous challenges, he rose to fame and became a household name in India. In July 2012, he suffered a cardiac arrest and passed away on July 12, at his home in Mumbai. Thousands of people attended his funeral service at Juhu Crematorium, and a statue was erected in his honour at Phase 6, Mohali, Punjab, next to his film studio, Dara Studio, in 2019.
Throughout his illustrious career, Dara Singh Randhawa acted in over 150-200 films and TV serials, including two national award-winning Punjabi films, Jagga and Mai Maa Punjab Dee. He established Punjab's first film studio, Dara Studio, and was a part of numerous projects that left a lasting impact on the Indian film industry.
In his personal life, Dara Singh Randhawa had six children, with one from his first marriage and five from his second. His love for wrestling began at an early age, and he left his studies to work on his family's farm. He later went to Singapore for work and had his first international kushti win at Jakarta, Indonesia, in 1949.
Dara Singh Randhawa's wrestling career was marked by numerous accolades, including the Champion of Malaysia, Indian Style (1951),Rustom-E-Hind (1954),Champion of Commonwealth (1959),Rustom-E-Punjab (1966),World Champion (1968),and NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Championship. He was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter's Hall of Fame in 1996 and the WWE Hall of Fame in 2018.
Dara Singh Randhawa's life story has been documented in his auto-biography, Meri Aatamkatha, written in Punjabi, as well as in a biography titled Deedara! aka Dara Singh, written by Seema Sonik Alimchand. His life has also been immortalized in a comic book, Journey of the Great Dara Singh, launched in 2019 at Mumbai Comic-Con.
