The iconic Indian wrestler and actor's son Vindu Dara Singh talks about the making of the Punjabi song, "Great Dara Singh", penned by Abu Dhabi-resident Balbir Singh Randhawa
Published: Tue 7 Jul 2020, 5:35 PM
Updated: Wed 8 Jul 2020, 12:30 PM
The legendary Indian actor-wrestler Dara Singh was known for his prowess in the ring. He is credited with putting Indian wrestling on the world map and making the sport popular in the country. He won the many titles for the country and his battles with the famed Lou Thesz to win the World Championship is the stuff of legends. In his native village Dharmu Chak, near Amritsar in Punjab, his story is today part of folklore. His followers consider him a guru, and to pay tribute to the icon, Abu Dhabi-based Indian businessman Balbir Singh Randhawa wrote the song Great Dara Singh which was released on Guru Purnima (a day dedicated to teachers in India), on July 5.
"My father and uncle helped many people from our native village acquire jobs in the UAE. The owner of an electronics group in Dubai was a close friend of my dad. So my father used to seek his help to get jobs for our people in Dubai," Dara Singh's son and Bollywood actor-producer Vindu Dara Singh told City Times over the phone from Mumbai.
Explaining how the song came into being Vindu said, "Among the boys from our village recruited to work in the electronics company was Balbir Singh Randhawa. He worked hard to rise in the ranks to become an entrepreneur. Today, Balbir runs a factory and a trading company in Abu Dhabi. He had always wanted to pay tribute to my dad. He wanted to thank him for making him what he is today. So he decided to honour him with a song. He spoke to me about it following which I got everything organised for the song."
The Punjabi track, sung by Nachhatar Gill was penned by Randhawa with music by Amdad Ali. The lyrics detail Dara Singh's life - in wrestling and cinema. The video features clips of the legend in the wrestling ring and from his movies.
"We recorded and shot the song in our Chandigarh studio. The lyrics say that there will never be another Dara Singh. But I sincerely hope there will be another person like him born in our family who will take his legacy forward. The response to the song so far has been tremendous. In the first day after its release, the track got more than 100,000 views. People are loving the song and I'm receiving positive responses from people," Vindu said.
Balbir had aways respected Dara Singh as his guru and he thought that there would be no greater honour than releasing the song on Guru Purnima. "T-Series is like family to me, so I spoke to them and asked them to release the song on Guru Purnima and they obliged. We have also put up a statue of my father in front of Dara Singh Studio on the Mohali-Chandigarh junction. It was done mainly to remind the next generation about him and to keep his legacy alive," said Vindu.
Apart from his achievements in the ring, Dara Singh had worked in the extremely popular TV series Ramayan, in which he played Hanuman. His last big-screen appearance was in Imtiaz Ali's 2007 film Jab We Met, in which he had played Kareena Kapoor's grandfather.
When asked how Dara Singh would have reacted to the song if he were alive, Vindu said, "My father was a very simple, down-to-earth man. He didn't want anyone to go through any kind of trouble because of him. He told us that he did not want any street or any other thing named after him. He was a very satisfied person. However, he was a music lover and would listen to all sorts of music; Ghazals were his favourite."
Vindu is a regular visitor to the UAE and is waiting for the situation to improve to fly down. "I just love Dubai. It's a beautiful place. So many nice spots to visit. I also heard that the authorities have managed to do a lot to control Coronavirus. I'm just waiting for the flights to start. I'm surely coming down for a holiday."
Balbir Singh Randhawa recollects his interactions with Dara Singh
Balbir Singh Randhawa is Dara Singh's cousin. He was very close to the legend. Randhawa always wanted to do something for him because he owed his success to him and that was the reason he wrote the song Great Dara Singh as a tribute to the icon.
"I came to Mumbai in 1978 and was very close to Dara Singh. One evening, he invited the owner a Dubai-based electronics company over for dinner at his house. He told him to do something for me and that's how I came to the UAE. I worked for his company in Abu Dhabi and slowly branched off and started my own business. I started with a trading company and then set up a plastic manufacturing factory. I recollect, whenever Dara Singh would come to the UAE, he would stay with me. But he would not want anyone to know that he's here as he wanted to just relax and not be disturbed. I remember him as a person who was very sincere and extremely dedicated to his craft," said Balbir.
"From my early days, I've been into writing so it helped me. Just before Dara Singh's death, he asked me to come and visit him. He would narrate interesting stories about his life. Then after he passed away I decided to do a tribute and I wrote this song about his life."
"It's an energetic song about a young man with a physique that is the glory of Punjab and how he made us proud by becoming a wrestling champion and a successful actor. The video is interspersed with shots of the icon in the ring and his movies. I consider him my guru and wanted to honour him," he added.
michael@khaleejtimes.com
Cover poster of the song "Great Dara Singh"
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