'Action King of Bollywood' Dara Singh dies at 83

Wrestler-turned-actor Dara Singh, who suffered a cardiac arrest, died today in Mumbai. He was admitted to Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital last Saturday and underwent dialysis. He was 83.

We take a look at his life and Bollywood career.

Decorated with titles such as Rustum-E-Punjab and Rustum-E-Hind for his wrestling prowess, Dara Singh, is also known for his roles in movies like King Kong and Faulad. He was last seen on the big screen as Kareena Kapoor's grandfather in Imtiaz Ali's Jab We Met.

The veteran actor was nominated member of Rajya Sabha by Bhartiya Janata Party during August 2003 – August 2009.

Dara Singh, whose full name is Dara Singh Randhawa, was born in Amritsar in 1928. He studied pehelwani as a child.

Dara Singh was a favourite in wrestling tournaments across the country and also wrestled on invitation of Kings during melas. The actor also competed against some of the greatest names in wrestling history in the United States.

Then he won the title of Champion of Malaysia (Indian style wrestling) by defeating Tarlok Singh in Kuala Lumpur in 1947. He had visited most of the countries as a professional wrestler.

Later he became the Indian Champion in 1954 and became the Commonwealth Champion in 1959 and has defeated Oriental Champion King Kong, George Gordienko (Canada), John Desilva (New Zealand) and many more.

He was not only the Indian Champion but also toured other wrestling countries and defeated Lou Thesz of America and became the World Champion in 1968. But after defending his World Champion title, Dara Singh took retirement as an Undefeated Player in 1983.

He has over 500 fights to his credit and that too all undefeated. His series of fights with Lou Thesz, King Kong and rest are cherished till date.

He is credited for having introduced the trend of taking the shirt off in Bollywood and was also known as the 'Action King of Bollywood' in 1960s-70s.

He appeared in various films like Watan Se Door, Daada, Rustom-E-Baghdad, Sher Dil, Sikandar-E-Azam, Raaka, Mera Naam Joker and Dharam Karam.

Dara Singh, who has done over 100 films, worked with veteran actress Mumtaz in as many as 16 Hindi films.

But he is still etched in our minds as "Hanuman" from the famous TV serial Ramayan in the late 1980s. He was also seen in a few TV serials including Hadh Kar Di.

Besides movies and wrestling, Dara Singh also owns the prestigious Dara Studio at Mohali.

In 1996 he was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame.

Dara Singh has three sons Pruduman Singh Randhawa, Vindu Dara Singh (actor) and Amrik Singh. He also has three daughters.