Few people would have made the transition from the 'akhara' to the showbiz stage with the success of Dara Singh, who gave up the ghost at his home in Mumbai Thursday morning on the age of 84 after a short lived illness.
A wrestling hero to a few and a miles loved cine artist to others, it was an extended and eventful life that triumphed many odds.
In his over five-decade long acting journey, he featured in over 140 films, including classics corresponding to "Anand" and "Mera Naam Joker".
It was a many splendoured life.
There was Dara Singh the wrestler, Dara Singh, the hero of 'B' category action films similar to "Tarzan Involves Delhi" and "Samson" in the 1950s and 1960s, Dara Singh, the friendly 'pehelwan' in "Anand", after which Dara Singh who played Hanuman with great effect in the television blockbusters "Ramayan" and "Mahabharat".
He was last seen within the Kareena Kapoor-Shahid Kapoor starrer "Jab We Met" because the stern, lovable 'Daarji' who ruled over a noisy, close-knit Sikh family. Quite just like the real life man, who intimidated individuals with his 6' 2" frame but soon won them over with outgoing nature and warmth.
Born to Balwant Kaur and Surat Singh Randhawa Nov 19, 1928 in a village in Amritsar, Punjab, Dara Singh was encouraged to take up wrestling because of his imposing physique and trained in 'pehelwani', an Indian form of wrestling.
He became a celebrity wrestler - and never just on Indian turf.
Dara Singh took on international wrestlers like Lou Thesz and Stanislaus Zbyszko, and had over 500 professional fights to his credit - all undefeated.
He won the pro Indian Wrestling Championship in 1953, and took away the Commonwealth Wrestling Championship trophy in 1959 by defeating Canadian champion George Godianko.
A recipient of titles like Rustam-E-Punjab (1966) and Rustam-E-Hind (1978), Dara Singh retired from active wrestling in 1983.
In 1989, he published his autobiography "Meri Atmakatha" in Punjabi, and 7 years later was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame.
And while he was wrestling, he was creating a name in cinema - both Hindi and Punjabi.
His first release was the 1952 "Sangdil" after which came a succession of movies like "King Kong", "Faulad", "Sher-e-Watan" that earned him the name of Bollywood's action king.
During his hey day as a hero, he teamed up with Mumtaz in 16 Hindi films, including "Jawan Mard", "Raaka", "Aandhi Aur Toofan", "Daku Mangal Singh", "Boxer" and "Veer Bhimsen".
Another successful phase in Dara Singh's acting career came when he bagged the role of Hanuman in Ramanand Sagar's epochal TV series "Ramayan" in 1986. People liked him such a lot that B.R. Chopra roped him in to play the similar role in "Mahabharat".
Dara Singh gave viewers a glimpse of his humorous side through shows like "Hadd Kar Di" and "Kya Hoga Nimmo Ka".
He became a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha from August 2003 to August 2009.
Dara Singh also took at the role of a writer, director and producer. In 1978, he launched Dara Studio, a self-contained mini-city with all facilities inside the compound, in Punjab's Mohali district.
Dara Singh, who was widowed and got married for the second one time, leaves behind his wife, six children - three sons and 3 daughters. And legions of fans of a person who defined machismo.
Dara Singh was beyond his body
Wrestler turned actor Dara Singh was much beyond his body and was an ideal human being, said Bollywood choreographer Farah Khan whose late father Kamran, who was a successful stunt film-maker, was closely related to the long-lasting actor.
"He had done greater than 25 films with my father. He was greater than Dara Singh to me, " said Farah Khan.
He wbecause the gentlest person above his image as the he-man, she said.
"He and my father will catch up in heaven, " said the famous Bollywood choreographer.
Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan paid his tribute on Twitter immediately after the inside track reached him.
"Dara Singh ji kicked the bucket this morning. AN EXCELLENT Indian and one of the vital finest humans. A whole era of his celebrated presence gone !" he tweeted.
The actor who made his entry in Bollywood in 1960s was on ventilator for the past days in Mumbai's Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital where he was admitted on July 7 after a cardiac arrest. But his family took him home and he died there.
Dara Singh, who played every role from hero to the large-hearted grandfather in his last film Jab We Met starring Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor, was an iconic figure in Indian celluloid and he was truly the unique He-man of Bollywood and an action hero of repute.
The End
The end came at home after his family decided to take him back from the hospital to his residence in Juhu, doctors said.
Family physician R K Agarwal said he died surrounded by his family.
He could be cremated at around 2 pm, said the doctor.
The actor who made his entry in Bollywood in 1960s was on ventilator for the past days in Mumbai's Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital where he was admitted on July 7 after a cardiac arrest.
