International wrestling champion that played Hanuman in Ramayan: Remarkable facts about Dara Singh

Dara Singh who played the role of Hanuman in Ramayan is the most loved wrestler of India. His contribution to the nation will always remain special for everyone. Apart from being a wrestler, he was an actor and a producer. His interest was always in wrestling and you would be surprised to know that he played more than 500 matches and didn’t even lose a single match.

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When we talk about Ramayan, there were two most popular characters that got immense love from the audience. One was Lord Ram and the second character was of Hanuman. Do you know he had also played the character of Hanuman before doing Ramayan? Yes, you read it right! That experience helped him in portraying this role with greater perfection.

Talking about his wrestling career, at the young age of 26, he became the National Wrestling Champion in the year 1954. And, he also lifted the trophy of Commonwealth Championship in 1959. It was in the year 1968 when he became an international world champion by defeating America’s Lou Thesz.

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Apart from his popular character of Hanuman, he acted in numerous movies like Sher Dil, Rustom-E-Baghdad, Watan Se Door, Sikander-e-Aazam, Daada and Raaka, and he was also a part of movies like Kal Ho Na Ho and Jab We Met.

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Dara Singh was the first sportsperson who got nominated in the Rajya Sabha and he gave his services there from 2003 to 2009. During his golden span of a career, he received a lot of awards and recognition for his remarkable performances. He won numerous awards including Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame, Rustam-E-Hind and Rustam-E-Punjab.