Dara Singh : India's strongman, wrestler, actor and politician

Bollywood actor Dara Singh talks about his wrestling experiences.

Dara Singh was more than a film star. He was a piece of folklore and he became a sociological phenomenon. He cannot be seen merely as a fact of autobiography, a curriculum vitae of achievements, a composite of 148 films and some legendary TV performances. He has to be seen as a hybrid of myth and folklore, of archetype and stereotype. He was an individual who stoked a collective consciousness, as a larger than life evocation of the desi hero.

He represented the Indian idea of masculinity - the mard. He was the He-man as a gentle giant, the Punjab da puttar who was authentic desi, a product of local soul and local foods. He had physical prowess but none of the aggressive machismo we see today. He evoked security, gentleness, the right kind of patriarchy; his body rippled with the indigenous values. Even a Ramdev could salute him. He was proud to be Jat, content to be Indian.

He was a creature of the akhada, a pahalwan trained in an Indian style of wrestling. The akhada of that time was an embedded part of culture, a blend of the traditional body and Indian values, a theory of health and vitality. It was not the annexe to electoral politics it became later.

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