In his autumnal years, the World Wrestling Champ Dara Singh isn't just toasting his toes in the winter sunlight. He's busy inspiring the youth, presiding over wrestling matches in Aurangabad and elsewhere in India. “Oh, dad keeps himself busy,” smiles Vindoo as he shares his lunch with his famous father and his Russian wife and little daughter. Surprisingly, there are no ghee-fried phulkas on offer, they are partaking mini phulkas and low-calorie fare,” It's not good to overeat. Eat right and do varzish everyday. Take a daily walk,” advises the grand man before we settle down in a cozy corner where he displays his press-cuttings of the glorious days when he reigned supreme as a wrestler and then went on to life each of his heroines in his strong arms!

Reaping record

His grey curls and lined face dissolve into a youthful animated look as he harks back to his carefree childhood days in Dharmu Chak. “It is a 500-year old hamlet close to Amritsar where the family owned hundreds of acres of land which we tilled, sowed and harvested aplenty,” he laughs. He was never schooled, no one else in his family was! These Sikhs lived off the land happily. “At one time I cut down one acre of golden wheat with a sickle in a day, that record of mine remains unbroken yet,” he states proudly. Young Dara's life was full of fun and rigours of farming. Wrestling was just another village sport but he never trained in it till he moved to Singapore. He hadn't watched a film till then either!

Turban sacrifice

“In those days many of my village folks went to Singapore for better prospects,” and that's how he followed his chacha there. Starting off as a night watchman in a military bar, for the 17-year-old Dara that was a cushy life and he spent the whole day listening to tales about the great Gama Pehalwan. “People often advised me to take up wrestling owing to my physique but I wondered how I could afford a wrestler's rich diet and I was 19 already, which I thought was too late to start,” he recalls. But a former wrestler and now a shoe-shine man in the military camp insisted that body can be moulded up till the age of 25. And since there was “haddi mein jor” he must start training. Thus began Dara's tryst with the akhada. And his ustad chopped off his long tresses and beard since it came in the way of his wrestling. “For a sardar to lose his turban wasn't easy at all,” he admits.

Singaporean akhada

But for the love of the game, he did not mind sacrificing his hair. Soon Dara became a part of the two wrestling groups comprising Indian wrestlers - Happy World and Great World. With his might and nimble footwork soon Dara turned out to be the rising star of his Singaporean akhada. “The first time I threw down a Chinese wrestler, I got paid,” he smiles. Since then he gave up his job and the rugged sport became the cause celebre of his life. Money began pouring in as did fame. Dara was now a wrestler of international acclaim. He toured Indonesia and Sri Lanka and finally landed in Mumbai.

Champ on the rampage

Dara overthrew the notorious European wrestler King Kong to become the Indian champion in 1954. Post this fight, the humiliated King Kong beat a retreat to Singapore. Dara, on the other hand, was a champ on a rampage. He remained undefeated in Europe and lifted the Commonwealth title in Canada in 1959. Time was ripe for the invincible Dara now for the World title. But his repute spread far and wide and it wasn't too long before Bollywood woke up to his celebrity and decided to cash in on his brawn.

Retirement benefit scheme

In 1960, Dara found two film producers in his changing room after a hearty bout. They offered him the lead roles in their action films. Dara who had only seen two films in his entire life and was taught how morally degrading films were was completely nonplussed with the offer. “I just laughed and laughed at them. How can a Pehalwan act? I asked them,” he recalls bemusedly. But the joint persuasive power of Darshan Sabharwal and Ram Kumar Ghora made Dara think. “I had heard sad tales of retired wrestlers, how one of them was reduced to driving a tonga. I didn't want a life of penury and I took up films as my retirement benefit scheme,” he guffaws heartily. He was paid a signing amount of Rs 2000 for his first film and as per his going rate of Rs 1000 per wrestling bout, he demanded Rs 40,000 for a 40-day shoot. After various bounced cheques, eventually his net earning trickled down to Rs 5000. Mahesh Bhatt's father, Nanabhai directed his debut venture King Kong, a film that was a blockbuster. Its success also revived the action genre in a big way. In the days when social dramas ruled the marquee, this rugged wrestler changed the tide with the sheer right of might.

Rustom-E-Dara

Nothing succeeds like success and thus Dara's big bang debut spawned a series of action. “King Kong was released in '62 and in'63 I ended up having a dozen releases,” he informs. Bollywood cleverly capitalized on his wrestler image in films like Samson, Hercules, Toofan, Aaya Toofan, Phir Aaya Toofan, and Thief of Baghdad, Ali Baba Aur Chalis Chor and Tarzan of course! “I was working three shifts a day and Mehmood who was supposed to be the busiest of the lot had once joked that how dare I do more shifts than him,” Dara reminisces shaking his head good-humouredly. Dara wonders if he holds the record for starring in films entitled Rustom, he featured in Rustom, Rustom-E-Hind, Rustom-E-Rome and more that elude his memory now.

A doz with Mumtaz

Never mind the box-office successes, no top heroine in the Sadhana-Vyjayanthimala - were prepared to co-star with a pehelwan. And action films were considered to be B-graders any way. “When it came to the female lead for Samson, producer Sabharwal kept asking me my choice. I was too embarrassed and I could brush him off saying 'What do I know?” he shrugs. On the sets of Hercules where Dara was shooting was a dancer and her 14-year old sister stood by watching the shoot. Sabharwal singled her out and exclaimed,” How about her?” Dara shrugged again, his indifferent assent launched the stellar career of Mumtaz. “After Samson, we become a hit pair and we acted in a dozen films together,” he elaborates. Mumtaz's sister is married to his brother Randhawa and their son Shaad debuted last year. Dara says that he meets Mumtaz whenever she drops by to meet her sister next door and they often end up chatting about those magical days.

World Championship

Dara's main goal remained unattained owing to his busy shooting schedule for a couple of years. But he mustered his resolve and got back to wrestling with a vengeance in '68. He pushed back his film career and usurped the reigning US champ Rufus to be crowned the World Champ. “I defended the title for the next two years and passed it on later remaining undefeated,” he relates. Dara would crunch in 3000 sit-ups and 3000 push-ups every day. The rigorous regimen that helped him remain an active wrestler right up to the age of 53 and won him the coveted role of Hanuman in Ramanand Sagar's famous mythological serial Ramayana when he was well past his prime at 60!

Producing non-action films

When Dara launched his home banner, Dara Productions in '70 he surprisingly chose patriotic and communal harmony themes over action in which he specialized. “I was inspired by the prize-winning Punjabi film Nanak Dukhiya Sab Sansar. I wanted to make a socially-relevant film that would give viewers a good message. So I produced and directed Nasihat starring Balraj Sahni and Prithviraj Kapoor, it was based on Indo-Pak partition,” he narrates. His next venture Mera Desh Mera Dharam was based on the creation of Bangladesh. “I directed Raj Kapoor in it; he played a revolutionary doctor who dies for the cause, Rajji was very encouraging with a fumbling newcomer like me. He gave me a perfect take,” recalls Dara. Of 12 home productions, six were in Punjabi and six in Hindi. Kasam Aur Bhagwan, Bhakti Mein Shakti and Rustom were among his Hindi films. His final production Karan, the launch vehicle for his son Virender Singh, better known as Vindoo today, couldn't unfortunately do much for his son. But Dara has no regrets. “Everyone works as per his needs and aspirations, success is not in our hands,” he admits candidly.

Hanuman at 60

In his heyday, Dara had played the monkey God in Jai Bajrang Bali. “It came naturally to me, to wear a langot and prance about. The only difficulty was the rigid make-up because of which I had to starve till the pack up,” he reasons. But years later when he played Hanuman in Ramanand Sagar's tele-serial Ramayana he says the prosthetics made life easier and he could take off the mouth-piece once the shot was over and it could be stuck on again, “When I objected that I was too old for the role, Sagar insisted that I still looked good and was perfect for the role. It is the best role of my life. Being a wrestler, Hanuman is my God and believes he is still around, he's eternal,” he says of the role that has immortalized him in the viewer memory.

Serials and sanyas

Dara says that he never understood the film line while he was on top and by the time he got the grips of it he was too old! But that applies to life general. Dara has since been seen in jovial roles in serials like Kya Hoga Nimmo Ka, in films like Sharaarat and most recently as the powerful patriarch in Jab We Met. “Kareena is the fourth generation of Kapoors I am action with; I have also acted with her father Randhir. I have a long association with them,” he surmises. He knows he will only be offered dada-nana role now but then he will only accept a good role not just an appearance.

For his indomitable spirit and physique, the towering Dara is anything but intimidating. He's happy with the shirtless, six-pack fad in Bollywood. “I am glad, otherwise have you heard of Dev Anand or Raj Kapoor going bare-chested in any film? Action films were considered B-rated till Amitabh Bachchan gave them dignity as an angry young man. Now all the top films are action flicks and the audience loves them,” he concludes happily.

Of his five children only Vindoo followed in his footsteps, his other son Amtik is a businessman in Chandigarh while three of his daughters are domestically settled. One of them incidentally runs a pilot training academy in the US. Will the great legacy of Dara perpetuate with Vindoo's and Farha's son, only time will tell. As of now Dara is content with life and he often thinks that sanyas is a good option for senior citizens like him. These days he takes his hourly walks on Juhu beach and does some stretches and wonders how an unlettered villager like him ended up in a posh penthouse in Juhu.