Dara Singh Became the Face of Lord Hanuman on the Indian Screen

Not until Dara Singh came along did Lord Hanuman get His due in Hindi cinema and on television. Such was the all-pervasive impact of Dara Singh’s Hanuman in Ramanand Sagar’s long-running Doordarshan serial Ramayan that he became the face of Hanuman in numerous Hindu households and the calendar-impression of Hanuman.

Devotees of the real Hanuman would fall at Dara Singh’s feet when he went out into the public. Dara protested very strongly against this deification. But to no avail. The devotees insisted Dara was the real Hanuman and put up his photograph in their puja rooms. From then on, Dara Singh was the face of Hanuman. Interestingly, in 1966 there was a film on Hanuman titled Veer Bajrang, and though Dara Singh was in the cast, he did not play Hanuman. It didn’t start with Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan either. That came much later. In 1976, the very reputed director Chandrakant made a feature film called Bajrang Bali, where he cast Dara Singh as Hanuman.

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The film was a blockbuster, something as big as Jai Santoshi Maa, and Dara became a household name as Pavan Putra Hanuman. Eleven years later, Dara Singh landed the role of Hanuman in Ramanand Sagar’s historic mythological. Producer-director Ramanand Sagar had a dream in which he saw Dara Singh as Hanuman. Dara, then pushing 60, was still an active wrestler and as fit as a fiddle. He took to the role as though it were his own. After Dara Singh’s death, his son Vindoo Dara Singh was cast in the role of Hanuman in the television series Jai Veer Hanuman. He also played Hanuman in director K. Raghavendra Rao’s Telugu hit Sri Ramadasu in 2006.

Vindoo Dara Singh tells an interesting story on how his father became the screen face of Lord Hanuman. “It didn’t start with Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan. That came much later. In 1976, the very reputed director Chandrakant made a feature film called Bajrang Bali, where he cast my father as Hanuman. The film was a blockbuster, something as big as Jai Santoshi Maa, and my father became a household name as Pavan Putra Hanuman.” Eleven years later, Ramayan happened. Says Vindoo, “Papaji, as we all called the kind Ramanand Sagarji, decided to make the Ramayan. Though Dipika Chikhalia was the first choice for Sita, Arun Govil was not the original choice for Rama.

had someone else in mind for Rama. Arun Govilji was supposed to play some other role. But he insisted he would play Rama. Papaji had a dream one night where he saw my father as Hanuman. Dad was summoned and offered the role. Of course, he had no choice. No one said no to Papaji. And of course, Dad was still fit enough to play Hanuman. But he was 60, and after years of wrestling, his knees and shoulders had begun to trouble him. But Papaji insisted, and my father had no choice but to play Hanuman.” Ramayan made Dara Singh the face of Hanuman. Recalls Vindoo, “It was my father until he was alive, and then it was me. I was first offered the role of Hanuman in the serial Jai Veer Hanuman in 1996.

I was hesitant about slipping into a role patented by my father. But I took up the challenge. Now I am invited to the Ram Leela in Delhi every year to play Hanuman. My most memorable moment on stage as Hanuman was when PM Modiji put a tikka on my head before my performance. My best stint as Hanuman was in a Telugu film directed by the legendary Bapu.” After Dara Singh, the most memorable Hanuman was played by a Muslim actor. In the television serial Siya Ke Ram, Danish Akhtar Saifi, a wrestler-turned-actor like Dara Singh, became a household name as Hanuman. Would Sunny Deol, in Nitesh Tiwary’s Ramayan, be able to break the image of Dara Singh as Lord Hanuman? THE WRITER IS A VETERAN FILM CRITIC