Bhai Santokh Singh

Bhai Santokh Singh, (8 October 1787 - 19 October 1843) the noted author of six works - Naam Kosh, Guru Nanak Parkash, Garb Ganjni Teeka*, Balmik Ramayan, Atam Purayan Teeka and his magnum opus, Sri Gur Partap Suraj Granth aka Suraj Parkash, was born on 8 October 1787. He was the son of Bhai Deva Singh and Mata Rajadi, professional cloth printers of Nurdin village, also known as Sarai Nurdin, 7 km northwest of Tarn Taran in Amritsar district of the Punjab. * (Teeka or tika means translation and explanation of a work.)

Background and Early life

His father, though poor, was educated and well versed in the sacred texts. He sent his son, after preliminary education at home, to Amritsar where he became a pupil of Giani Sant Singh (1768 - 1832), a renowned man of letters and custodian of Sri Darbar Sahib.

After having studied Sikh Scripture and history, Sanskrit language and literature, poetics, philosophy and mythology at Amritsar for about 15 years, Santokh Singh moved to Buria, an old town on the right bank of the Yamuna in the present Yamuna Nagar district of Haryana, some time before 1813.

Writer, poet and preacher

There he established himself as a writer, poet, and preacher. His patron was Dial Singh, also from a clothmakers' family and an old acquaintance of the poet's father, who was serving as an army officer under Sardar Hari Singh, chief of Buna.

Here Santokh Singh wrote his earlier works, Nam Kosh, a versified Hindi translation of Amar Kosa, the famous Sanskrit dictionary, (completed in 1821), and Sri Guru Nanak Prakash, an epic poem consisting of 9,700 verses dealing with the life and teachings of Guru Nanak (completed in 1823).

He had attained such repute as a poet and scholar that Bhai Udai Singh, chief of Kaithal, invited him in 1825 to join his court. Santokh Singh is said to have spent some time at Patiala also as an employee of Maharaja Karam Singh before going to Kaithal.

Spends 18 years in Haryana

During his 18 year span at Kaithal, now a district town in Haryana, he wrote Garab Ganjani Tika (1829), an exhaustive philosophical commentary in Hindi prose on Guru Nanak's japji, along with a critical appreciation of its poetic features (the work was meant to be a rejoinder to Anandghana's tika of the Japu); Valmiki Ramayana (1834), a versified translation of the epic in chaste and refined Braj Bhasa; a translation of Atma Purana in Sadhukari prose (date not known); and his mangum opus, Sri Gur Pratap Suryodaya, popularly known as Gur Pratap Suraj Granth, a voluminous history of the Gurus, written in Braj Bhasa, consisting of 51,820 verses written during 1835-43.

A family man with a burning flare

Bhai Santokh Singh was married during his stay at Buna to Bibi Ram Kaur of Jagadhri. Five sons and three daughters were born to the couple. Some of their descendants are now living at Patiala and at Kaithal. The poet died at Kaithal on 19 October 1843, soon after the completion of his Gur Pratap Suraj Granth.

A shrine in honour of his memory was constructed at his native place, Sarai Nurdin, during the 1950's.

Source: http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Bhai_Santokh_Singh

Battle of Longewala

Battle of Longewala
Part of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
Tank tracks at Longewala. Photographic reconnaissance image taken at the time showing the desperate last minute manoeuvres by Pakistani tanks in the Longewala sector. Circles show destroyed Pakistani tanks.
Date 4–7 December 1971 Location Longewala ~30 Km from Ramgarh,Rajasthan, India Result Decisive Indian Victory[1]
Belligerents
India	Pakistan
Commanders and leaders
Brig.E.N.Ramadoss.  Lt.Col Mohammed Khursheed Hussain[2]  Major Kuldip Singh Chandpuri  Wg Cdr M.S. Bawa  Wg Cdr R A Cowasjee  Wg Cdr Suresh  Wg Cdr Sherwin Tully  Major Atma Singh	Brig. Tariq Mir  Brig. Jahanzeb Abab  Brig. Syed Mohammad Zaidi  Lt.Col. Zahir Alam Khan
Strength
120 soldiers 4 Hawker Hunters 1 HAL Krishak 1 Jeep mounted M40 recoilless rifle	2800 soldiers[citation needed] 65 tanks[citation needed] 138 military vehicles[citation needed] 5 field guns[citation needed] 3 anti aircraft guns[citation needed]
Casualties and losses
2 soldiers killed 1 jeep mounted recoilless rifle destroyed	200 soldiers killed 36 tanks destroyed or captured More than 500 vehicles destroyed or abandoned[3]

[show]  Indo-Pakistani War of 1971

[show] v   t   e Indo-Pakistani conflicts

 The Battle of Longewala (Hindi: लोंगेवाला की लड़ाई Lōṅgēvālā kī Laḍ.āī, Urdu: لوںگیوالا کی لڑائی) (D4 - 5 December 1971) was one of the first major engagements in the Western Sector during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, fought between assaulting Pakistani forces and Indian defenders at the Indian border post of Longewala, in the Thar Desert of the Rajasthan state in India.

The "A" company (reinforced) of the 23rd Battalion, Punjab Regiment, under the Indian Army's 30th Infantry, commanded by Brig E.N. Ramadoss (AVSM, SM, Mentioned-In-Despatches), was left with the choice of either attempting to hold out until reinforced, or fleeing on foot from a mechanised infantry Pakistani force. Choosing the former, the company officer commanding Major Kuldip Singh Chandpuri ensured that all his assets were correctly employed, and made the most use of his strong defensive position, and weaknesses created by errors in enemy tactics. He was also fortunate in that an Indian Air Force forward air controller was able to secure and direct aircraft in support of the post's defence until reinforcements arrived six hours later.

The Pakistani commanders made several bad decisions, including failure of strategic intelligence to foresee availability of Indian strike aircraft in the Longewala area, exercising operational mobility with little or no route reconnaissance, and conducting a tactical frontal assault with no engineer reconnaissance. This led to the Pakistani brigade group being left extremely vulnerable to air attack, vehicles becoming bogged in ground surface not suitable for movement of armoured vehicles as they tried to deploy off a single track, these being more susceptible to enemy fire by using external fuel storage in tactical combat, attempting to execute a night attack over unfamiliar terrain, and infantry being surprised by obstacles to troop movement causing confusion and stalling the attack during the crucial hours of darkness, when the assaulting infantry still had a measure of concealment from Indian small arms and infantry support weapons fire.

Background

The main thrust of the Indian Army during the 1971 war was directed towards the eastern theatre, with the western sector envisaged as a holding operation to prevent the Pakistan Army from achieving any success that would allow the President of Pakistan, Yahya Khan, any bargaining tool to trade against the captured territories in the east. By the last week of November 1971, the Indian Army had launched offensive manoeuvres at Atgram against Pakistani border posts and communications centres along the eastern border. The Mukti Bahini also launched an offensive on Jessore at this time. It was clear to Islamabad by this time that open conflict was inevitable, and that East Pakistan was indefensible in the long run. Yahya Khan chose at this point to try to protect Pakistan's integrity and to hold India by Ayub Khan's strategy – "The defence of East Pakistan lies in the West".

The Western sector

Khan's policy made the assumption that an open conflict with India would not last long due to International pressure, and that since East Pakistan was undefendable, the war-effort should be concentrated on occupying as large an area of Indian territory as possible as a bargaining tool at the negotiating table. To this end, Gen Tikka Khan had proposed an offensive into India, and the PAF's "overriding priority was to give maximum support to this offensive".[citation needed] The initial plans for the offensive called for at least a temporary cover of air dominance by the PAF under which Khan's troops could conduct a lightning campaign deep into Western India before digging in and consolidating their positions. To support Khan's troops, the PAF had launched pre-emptive strikes on the evening of 3 December that led to the formal commencement of hostilities. In the western theatre, the town of Rahim Yar Khan, close to the international border, formed a critical communication centre for Khan's forces and, situated on the Sindh - Punjab railway, remained a vulnerable link on Khan's logistics. The fall of Rahim Yar Khan to Indian forces would cut off the rail as well as road link between Sindh and Punjab, starving Khan's forces of fuel and ammunitions delivered to Karachi.

Indian battle plans called for a strike across the international border with the 12th Indian division towards Islamgarh through Sarkari Tala, subsequently advancing through Baghla to secure Rahim Yar Khan, which would not only destabilise the Pakistani defences in the Punjab, but also in the Jammu & Kashmir Sector, allowing the planned Indian offensive in the Shakargarh sector to sweep the Pakistani forces trapped there.

Pakistan, which envisaged the Punjab as an operational centre, had a strong intelligence network in the area and planned to counter its own comparatively weak strength on the ground with a pre-emptive strike through Kishangarh towards the divisional headquarters south of Ramgarh Pakistani intelligence did a very good job infiltrating the operations area posing as local people and passing on information. However, these sources failed to pass on information on the Longewala post which, originally a BSF post, was now held by a company of the Punjab Regiment. Longewala formed a strategic point en route to capturing vast tracts of land and also a pivotal theatre of war in engaging India on the western front.

Tactical plan

Pakistan's tactical plan was based on the assumption that an attack in the area would help Pakistan’s 1st Armoured Divisions task in the Sri Ganganagar area. Pakistan High command also felt that it was important to protect the North-South road link which they felt was vulnerable as it was close to the border. A Combined Operations Plan was decided upon. This involved two Infantry Brigades and two Armoured Regiments. A separate division, the 18 Division, was formed for this purpose. 18 Division Operation Orders required one Infantry Brigade (206) with an Armoured Regiment (38 Cavalry) to capture and establish a firm base at Longewala, a junction on the Indian road system and 51st Infantry Brigade and the 22nd Cavalry (Pakistan Army Armoured Corps) to operate beyond Longewala to capture Jaisalmer.

The Pakistani plan was to reach Longewala, Ramgarh and Jaisalmer". The plan was far-fetched from the start, if only because it called for a night attack to be conducted over terrain that was not preceded by route or engineer reconnaissance, and the armoured troops were therefore unaware of the ground surface that could not support rapid movement towards the objective. As the day unfolded, Longewala would stand out as one of the biggest losses in a battle for Pakistan despite overwhelming superiority before commencement of the battle, largely due to the vehicles becoming bogged down in soft sand.

Indian defensive planning

On the Indian side, the Longewala post was held by the A company of the 23rd Battalion, Punjab Regiment, led by Major K S Chandpuri, the defences occupying a high sand dune which dominated the area that was largely intractable to vehicles. The post was surrounded by a barbed wire fence of three stands. The rest of the battalion was located at Sadhewala, 17 km north-east of the Longewala post. Chandpuri commanded an infantry company reinforced by a section each of MMGs and L16 81mm Mortar, and one Jeep-mounted RCL. His two other recoilless rifle teams of the anti-tank section were under training at the battalion headquarters. Major Chandpuri also had under his command a four-man team of the camel Border Security Force division.[10] The Longewala post had no armoured vehicles, but artillery support was available from a battery of 170 Field Regiment (Veer Rajput) tasked in direct support to the battalion, and 168 Field Regiment which had been deployed to the area in secrecy just a day earlier. The direct support battery was attached to the 168 Field Regiment and served as its "Sierra" Battery. Immediately after PAF strikes on Indian airfields on 3 December, Chandpuri dispatched a 20 man strong patrol under Lieutenant Dharam Veer to Boundary Pillar (BP) 638, erected right on the international border. This patrol was to play an important part in detecting the Pakistani forces.

The battle

During the night of the 4th, Lt. Veer's platoon conducting a patrol detected noises across the border that suggested a large number of armoured vehicles approaching. These were soon confirmed by reports - from the Army's Air Observation Post aircraft flown by Maj. Atma Singh - in the area of a 20 km long armoured column on the track leading to the post advancing in the general direction of the Longewala post.Directing Lt Veer's patrol to trail the advancing armoured column, Chandpuri got in touch with the battalion headquarters requesting urgent reinforcements and armour and artillery support. Battalion HQ gave him the choice of staying put, and containing the attack as much as possible, or carrying out a tactical retreat of the company to Ramgarh, as reinforcements would not be available for at least six hours. Considering that Chandpuri's command had no transportation, and was facing a mobile enemy, he decided to maintain the defensive position of the post where his troops at least had the benefit of prepared defensive works, rather than conducting a withdrawal at night that was a far more riskier option.

The Pakistani forces begun their attack at 12:30 am. As the offensive approached the lone outpost, Pakistani artillery opened up across the border with medium artillery guns, killing five of the ten camels from the BSF detachment. As the column of 65 tanks neared the post, Indian defences, lacking the time to lay a prepared minefield, laid a hasty anti-tank minefield as the enemy advanced, one infantryman being killed in the process. The Indian infantry held fire until the leading Pakistani tanks had approached to 15–30 metres before firing their PIATs. They accounted for the first two tanks on the track with their Jeep-mounted 106 mm M40 recoilless rifle, with one of its crew being killed during the combat. This weapon proved quite effective because it was able to engage the thinner top armour of the Pakistani tanks from its elevated position, firing at often stationary bogged down vehicles. In all the post defenders claimed 12 tanks destroyed or damaged. The initial Pakistani attack stalled almost immediately when the infantry discovered the barbed wire which was unseen in the night, and interpreted it to signify a minefield. Firing for the Indian RCL crews was made easier by the flames of fires when the spare fuel tanks on the Pakistani tanks, intended to supplement their internal capacity for the advance to Jaisalmer, exploded, at once providing ample light for Indians located on higher ground, and creating a dense acrid smoke screen at ground level for the Pakistani infantry, adding to the confusion. Two hours were lost as Pakistani sappers were brought up, only to discover there was no minefield. However, at this time Pakistani infantry were required to make another attack, from a different direction, but in the dawn light. The Pakistani advance then attempted to surround the post two hours later by vehicles getting off the road, but many vehicles, particularly armoured personnel carriers and tanks, in trying to soften up the Indian defenders before attacking, became bogged in the soft sand of the area surrounding the post. Throughout the engagement Major Chandpuri continued to direct the supporting artillery fire.

Although massively outnumbering the Indian defenders, and having surrounded them, the Pakistani troops were unable to advance over open terrain on a full-moon night, under small arms and mortar fire from the outpost. This encouraged the Indians not to give up their strong defensive position, frustrating the Pakistani commanders. As dawn arrived, the Pakistan forces had still not taken the post, and were now having to do so in full daylight.

In the morning the Indian Air Force was finally able to direct some HF-24 Maruts and Hawker Hunter aircraft to assist the post; they were not outfitted with night vision equipment, and so were delayed from conducting combat missions until dawn. With daylight, however, the IAF was able to operate effectively, with the strike aircraft being guided to the targets by the airborne Forward Air Controller (FAC) Major Atma Singh in a HAL Krishak. The Indian aircraft attacked the Pakistani ground troops with the 16 Matra T-10 rockets and 30 mm cannon fire on each aircraft. Without support from the Pakistan Air Force, which was busy elsewhere, the tanks and other armoured vehicles were easy targets for the IAF's Hunters. The range of the 12.7 mm anti-aircraft heavy machine guns mounted on the tanks was limited and therefore ineffective against the Indian jets. Indian air attacks were made easier by the nature of the barren terrain. Many IAF officers later described the attack as a 'Turkey Shoot' signifying the lopsidedness. By noon the next day, the assault ended completely, having cost Pakistan 22 tanks claimed destroyed by aircraft fire, 12 by ground anti-tank fire, and some captured after being abandoned, with a total of 100 vehicles claimed to have been destroyed or damaged in the desert around the post. The Pakistani attack was first halted, and then Pakistani forces were forced to withdraw when AMX-13 Indian tanks from division's cavalry regiment, and the 17th Rajputana Rifles launched their counter-offensive to end the six-hour combat; Longewala had proved to be one of the defining moments in the war.

Aftermath

Notwithstanding the Indian victory, there were intelligence and strategic failures on both sides. India's intelligence failed to provide warning of such a large armoured force in the western sector. Moreover the defending post was not heavily armed to neutralise the enemy. Finally, they did not push home the advantage by finishing more tanks when the IAF had the Pakistan tanks on the run. They did, however destroy or capture some 36 tanks, remaining one of the largest disproportionate tank casualties for one side in a single battle after World War II.

Invading Pakistan troops meanwhile, had over-estimated the Longewala post's defensive capability due to the difficulty of approach over sand, conducting the attack at night and in full-moon light, against stiff resistance encountered there from a well prepared defensive position located on a dominant height. Attacking with virtually no air cover, they took too long to close for an assault on the position, and failed to anticipate availability of Indian close air support. Given that Pakistan's Sherman tanks and T-59/Type 59 Chinese tanks were slow on the sandy Thar desert, some military analysts[who?] have opined that the attack may have been a poorly planned and executed given the terrain. Some Pakistan tanks had suffered engine failures due to overheating in trying to extricate themselves, and were abandoned. The open desert battleground provided little to no cover for the tanks and infantry from air attacks. The plan to capture Longewala may have been good in conception, but failed due to lack of air cover. As a result, two tank regiments failed to take Longewala.

For his part, the Indian company commander Major (later Brigadier) Kuldip Singh Chandpuri was decorated with India's second highest gallantry award, the Maha Vir Chakra. Several other awards were earned by members of the defending company, and the battalion's commander. On the other hand, the Pakistani divisional commander was dismissed from service. However, the commander of the Pakistani 51 Brigade who mounted the daring attack and crossed into Indian territory was later awarded Pakistan's high award of the Sitara-e-Imtiaz.

The British media significantly exploited the defence of Longewala. James Hatter compared the Battle of Longewala as to Battle of Thermopylae in his article Taking on the enemy at Longewala describing it as the deciding moment of the 1971 war. Similarly, Field Marshal R.M. Carver, the British Chief of the Imperial General Staff, visited Longewala a few weeks after the war to learn the details of the battle from Major Chandpuri.

Casualties

The battle of Longewala saw heavy Pakistani losses and low Indian losses. Since the Indians were able to use the defenders advantage, they managed to inflict heavy losses on the Pakistanis. Indian casualties in the battle were 2 soldiers. In addition, one Indian jeep mounted Recoilless rifle was knocked out. Pakistani losses were 200 soldiers killed. The Pakistanis also suffered the loss of 22 tanks destroyed or abandoned, and lost 100 additional vehicles, including APC's.

Battle of Longewala in popular culture

The Battle of Longewala was depicted in the 1997 Bollywood Hindi film Border, which was directed by J.P. Dutta and starred Sunny Deol as the Major Kuldip Singh Chandpuri, Jackie Shroff as the Wing Commander M.S. Bawa, Sunil Shetty as the Rajput Border Security Force Captain Bhairon Singh, and the then teen idol Akshaye Khanna as Lt. Dharam Veer Bhan. The main criticism of the movie was that it showed Indian forces being in a terrible position before any sort of help came from the Indian Air Force. The movie also exaggerates the casualties of Indian soldiers for dramatic purposes. This was not the case in the real incident as Indian forces had defended a position on a height that commanded the area, and were able to defend it effectively due to tactical mistakes made by the Pakistani commanders. This resulted in only 2 jawan casualties before combat ceased. Indian troops were later able to capture damaged or abandoned Pakistani tanks.

Kuldip Singh Chandpuri

Brigadier (retired) Kuldip Singh Chandpuri is an Indian Army officer known for his heroic leadership in the famous Battle of Longewala. for which he was awarded Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) by the Indian Army. Border, a 1997 Bollywood film directed by J.P.Dutta, is an adaptation of the real-life battle, with Major Chandpuri being portrayed by Bollywood actor Sunny Deol.

Biography

Kuldip Singh Chandpuri was born into a Gurjar Sikh family at Montgomery (Undivided India), Punjab (India) and he currently lives in Chandigarh.

Career

Brig. Chandpuri was selected in the Indian Army in 1962, and commissioned in 1963 in 3 Battalion The Punjab Regiment, which is one of the oldest and highly decorated unit of the Indian army. He took part in the 1965 war in the western sector. After the war, Brig. Chandpuri served the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) at Gaza (Egypt) for a year. He also served twice as an instructor at the prestigious Infantry School, Mhow (MP) where the elite of the Indian army is imparted instructions and combat training.

Battle of Longewala

Kuldip Singh Chandpuri held the rank of major in the Indian Army's 23rd Battalion, Punjab Regiment when the Pakistan army attacked the Longewala post in the state of Rajasthan, India, early in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. Chandpuri and his company of 120 soldiers defended the post at considerable odds against the 2000-3000 strong assault force of the 51st Infantry Brigade, backed by the 22nd Armored Regiment. Chandpuri and his company held the Pakistanis at bay for a full night until the Indian Air Force arrived in the morning.

Chandpuri inspired his men, moving from bunker to bunker encouraging them in beating back the enemy until reinforcements arrived. Kuldip Singh Chandpuri and his men inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy and forced them to retreat, leaving behind twelve tanks. For his conspicuous gallantry and leadership, Chandpuri was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) by the Indian Army.

Major Kuldip Singh Chandpuri retired from the army as a brigadier.

Poonam Dhillon

Poonam Dhillon is an Indian Hindi film, theatre and TV actress. She is best known for her 1979 film, Noorie, for her six films with Rajesh Khanna Red Rose, Dard, Nishaan, Zamana, Awam (from 1980 to 1987) and Sohni Mahiwal (1984), Samundar, Saveray Wali Gaadi (1986) and Naam (1986).

Career

Dhillon first gained fame when she was crowned Miss Young India  at the age of 16. Director Yash Chopra noticed her and offered her a role in the film Trishul (1978) where she performed the song "Gapoochi Gapoochi gum gum" with co-star Sachin Pilgaonkar. Chopra then gave her the title role in Noorie (1979), which he produced. For this, Dhillon was nominated for Filmfare Award for Best Actress. Subsequently she did about 90 films in Hindi, including Sohni Mahiwal, Red Rose, Teri Kasam, Dard, Nishana, Yeh Vada Raha, Samunder, Romance, Kasam, and Sitamgar. She was often paired with Rajesh Khanna and together, they performed in Dard, Nishaan, Zamana and Awam and the critically acclaimed Red Rose which became a box office failure and potboiler Jai Shiv Shankar. She takes the pride of featuring in six films opposite Kaka, the phenomenally brilliant actor of the yesteryear: the much glorified Rajesh Khanna.

She did a cameo in Judai (1996) as a favor to producer Boney Kapoor after Juhi Chawla dropped out. She also appeared in regional films such as Nyay Danda, (Bengali), Yudha Kanda (Kannada) and Ishtam (Telugu).

She has done Hindi theatre, The Perfect Husband which won the best comedy play award in 2005 and which completed Golden Jubilee run. She is currently acting in the plays The Perfect Wife co-starring Sooraj Thapar and Pyaar Mein Kabhi Kabhi with Asif Sheikh.

Dhillon ventured into the make-up van business, pioneering the concept in the Indian film industry. She runs a successful make-up van company, "VANITY". She was one of the first to start a personal website in 2000. She has been very active with social causes like drug awareness, AIDS awareness, family planning and organ donation. Dhillon was the fourth guest on Bigg Boss (Season 3) aired on Colors TV. She ended up as the second runner-up on the show. She did a show for "save & empower the Girl child" with LILAVATI hospital. She has an event and film production company, poetic justice films pvt ltd.

Filmography

Dil Bole Hadippa! (2009) – Yamini Singh (Vikram's wife)

13B (2009) – Manohar's mother

Ishtam (2001) – Lakshmi

Judaai (1997) – Nisha (guest appearance)

Mahaanta (1997) – Shanti (Mrs. Vijay Kapoor)

Virodhi (1992)

Jai Shiv Shankar (1992)

Jhoothi Shaan (1991) – Ganga

Qurbani Rang Layegi (1991) – Poonam

Amiri Garibi (1990) – Rani

Atishbaaz (1990)

Pathar Ke Insan (1990) – Lata Rai

Police Public (1990) – Karuna Arun Sharma

Yuddha Kaanda (1989) – Kannada film

Batwara(1989) – Rajendra's wife

Abhimanyu (1989) – Tulsi/Miss California 'Kelly'

Deshwasi (1989)

Galiyon Ka Badshah (1989) – Madhu

Hisaab Khoon Ka (1989)

Saaya (1989)

Hum Farishte Nahin (1988) – Sunita

Kasam (1988)

Maalamaal (1988) – Poonam Malhotra

Sone Pe Suhaaga (1988) – Shraddha

Himmat Aur Mehanat (1987) - Sharda

Avam (1987)

Mard Ki Zabaan (1987)

Avinash (1986)

Dosti Dushmani (1986)

Ek Chadar Maili Si (1986) – Raaji

Karma (film) (1986) – Tulsi

Khel Mohabbat Ka (1986) – Lily/Shyamoli

Naam (1986) – Seema Rai

Palay Khan (1986)

Samundar (1986) – Anjali

Saveray Wali Gaadi (1986) – Jyoti

Bepanaah (1985) – Radha Malhotra

Geraftaar (1985) – Anuradha Saxena

Kabhi Ajnabi The (1985)

Shiva Ka Insaaf (1985) – Nisha

Sitamgar (1985)

Tawaif (1985)

Teri Meherbaniyan (1985) – Bijli

Zamana (1985)

Badal (1984) – Meenakshi

John Jani Janardhan (1984)

Laila (1984)

Sohni Mahiwal (1984) – Sohni

Yaadgaar (1984)

Nishan (1983)

Qayamat (1983)

Romance (1983) – Sonia

Aapas Ki Baat (1982) – Kajal Srivastava

Sawaal (1982)

Teri Kasam (1982) – Dolly

Yeh To Kamaal Ho Gaya (1982) – Priya Singh

Yeh Vaada Raha (1982) – Sunita Sikkan/Sonu

Baseraa (1981) – Sarita Sethi

Dard (1981) – Poonam Bhargav

Main Aur Mera Haathi (1981) – Julie

Poonam (1981) – Poonam

Red Rose (1980) – Sharda

Biwi-O-Biwi (1980) – Asha

Nishana (1980)

Kaala Patthar (1979) – Raghunath's daughter

Noorie (1979) – Noorie Nabi

Trishul (1978) – Babli/Kusum Gupta

Television

Andaaz

Chusth Durusth on Zee TV

Kittie Party

"Showbiz India" Celebrity Profile (2005)

Bigg Boss (Season 3) on Colors TV

Official website: http://www.poonamdhillon.com

Dev Anand

Dharam Dev Pishorimal Anand (26 September 1923 – 3 December 2011), better known as Dev Anand, was an Indian film actor, writer, director and producer known for his work in Hindi cinema. Part of the Anand family, he co-founded Navketan Films in 1949 with his elder brother Chetan Anand.

The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Bhushan in 2001 and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2002 for his contribution to Indian cinema. His career spanned more than 65 years with acting in 114 Hindi films of which 104 have him play the main solo lead hero and he did 2 English films.

Early life

Dev was born Dharam Dev Pishorimal Anand on 26 September 1923 in the Shakargarh tehsil of the Gurdaspur district in Punjab (British India) (present-day Narowal district of Pakistan). His father Pishori Lal Anand was a well-to-do advocate. Dev was the third of four sons born to Pishori Lal Anand. One of Dev's younger sister is Sheela Kanta Kapur, who is mother of Shekhar Kapur. His older brothers were Manmohan Anand (Advocate, Gurdaspur Dist. Court) and Chetan Anand and younger one was Vijay Anand. Dev Anand spent his early years in Gharota village near Gurdaspur, Gurdaspur town. He did his schooling till matriculation from Sacred Heart School, Dalhousie, Himachal Pradesh (then in Punjab) and went to college Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh before going to Lahore to study. Later Dev completed his graduation in English Literature from the Government College, Lahore in British India.

Career

After graduating in English Literature from the Government College, Lahore (then in British India, now in Pakistan), Anand left his hometown for Bombay in the early 1940s. He began his career in the military censor's office at Churchgate, for a monthly salary of Rs. 165. Later he joined as a clerk in an accountancy firm for a salary of Rs. 85. He joined his older brother, Chetan, as a member of the Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA).Dev Anand aspired to become a performer after seeing Ashok Kumar's performance in films like Achhut Kanya and Kismat. Dev Anand quoted in an interview that "I remember when I gatecrashed into the office of the man who gave me the first break, he kept looking at me — Babu Rao Pai of Prabhat Film Studios. At that time he made up his mind that this boy deserves a break and later mentioned to his people that ‘this boy struck me because of his smile and beautiful eyes and his tremendous confidence." Then he was soon offered the lead role in Prabhat Films' Hum Ek Hain (1946), a film about Hindu-Muslim unity, where Dev Anand played a Hindu boy and was paired opposite Kamala Kotnis. While shooting the film in Pune, Anand befriended the actor Guru Dutt. Between them, they agreed that if one of them was to become successful in the film industry, they would help the other to be successful. They formed a mutual understanding that when Anand produced a film, Dutt would direct it and when Dutt directed a film, Anand would act in it.

Late 40s and romance with Suraiya

In the late 1940s, Anand was offered a few roles starring as the male lead opposite singer-actress Suraiya in woman-oriented films. He considered himself to be very lucky to get a chance to star opposite such an established actress and accepted the offers. While shooting these films, he became romantically involved with Suraiya. The two of them were paired in seven films together: Vidya (1948), Jeet (1949), Shair (1949), Afsar (1950), Nili (1950), Do Sitare (1951) and Sanam (1951), all of which were successful at the box office. In these films, Suraiya was always first-biller in the credits, indicating that she was a bigger star than Anand. She fell in love with him during the shooting of the song Kinare kinare chale jayen ge from the film Vidya—while shooting the scene, the boat they were in capsized, and Anand saved Suraiya from drowning. Their entire affair was conducted in a clandestine manner, with friends like Durga Khote and Kamini Kaushal going out of their way to engineer secret rendezvous. On the sets of the film Jeet, Anand finally proposed to Suraiya and gave her a diamond ring worth Rs 3,000. Her maternal grandmother opposed the relationship as they were Muslim and Anand was Hindu, and so, Suraiya remained unmarried. They stopped acting together after her grandmother opposed their partnership, and Do Sitare was the last film in which they appeared. Although the films he starred in with Suraiya had been successful, the producers and directors of those films attributed their success to the acting prowess and screen presence of Suraiya. Anand began looking for an opportunity to play the main male lead in a film where his acting skills could be demonstrated, so as to dispel scepticism about his acting abilities.

Break and the 1950s

Anand was offered his first big break by Ashok Kumar. He spotted Anand hanging around in the studios and picked him as the hero for the Bombay Talkies production, Ziddi (1948), co-starring Kamini Kaushal, which became an instant success. After Ziddi's success, Anand decided that he would start producing films. It was in the film Ziddi, where the first-ever Kishore-Lata duet, Yeh Kaun Aaya Karke Yeh Sola Singhar, was recorded. This duet was an instant hit, and from here, on both the playback singers' association with Dev Anand began. It continued for next four decades. His association with Kishore Kumar started when the former sang the first solo of his playback singing career – Marne Ki Duayen – picturised on Dev Anand in the movie Ziddi. Dev had forged a very strong bond of friendship with Kishore Kumar during the making of the film. In 1949, he launched his own company Navketan Films (which means "newness"), which, as of 2011, had produced 35 films.

Dev chose Guru Dutt as director for the crime thriller, Baazi (1951). The film, starring Dev Anand, Geeta Bali and Kalpana Kartik was a trendsetter, regarded as the forerunner of the spate of urban crime films that followed in Bollywood in the 1950s. The film Baazi saw debut of Kalpana Kartik (aka Mona Singh) as the lead female actress and Guru Dutt as a director. The collaboration was a success at the box office and the duo of Dev Anand and Kalpana Kartik were offered many films to star in together. They signed all the film offers and subsequently the movies Aandhiyan, Taxi Driver, House No. 44 and Nau Do Gyarah went on to become big hits too. During the making of film Taxi Driver, the couple fell in love and Dev proposed marriage to his heroine Kalpana. In 1954, Taxi Driver was declared a hit and the two decided to marry in a quiet ceremony. The couple had a son, Suneil Anand in 1956 and later a daughter, Devina, was born. After her marriage, Kalpana decided not to pursue her acting career further. Nau Do Gyarah was the couple's last movie together.

A rapid-fire style of dialogue delivery and a penchant for nodding while speaking became Dev's style in films like House No. 44, Pocket Maar, Munimji, Funtoosh, C.I.D. and Paying Guest In the 1950s his films were of the mystery genre or light comedy love stories or were films with social relevance like Ek ke baad ek and Funtoosh.His style was lapped up by the audience and was widely imitated. He starred in a string of box office successes for the remainder of the 1950s opposite newcomer Waheeda Rehman in C.I.D., Solva Saal, Kala Pani, Kala Bazar and Baat Ek Raat Ki. Waheeda first became a star with C.I.D becoming a hit. In 1955 he also co-starred with Dilip Kumar in Insaniyat. With his acting in Kala Pani (1958), as the son who is willing to go to any lengths to clear his framed father's name, he won his first Filmfare award for Best Actor for the film. He attempted films of tragic genre occasionally like Pocketmaar (1956), Kala Pani (1958), Bombai Ka Baboo (1960) and Sharabi (1964) and tasted success with them. Dev also played a few characters with a negative shade, like in Jaal(1952) where he played a smuggler, then as an absconding gang member in Dushman, as a black marketer in Kala Bazar. Apart from his pair with Suraiya and Kalpana Kartik, his pair with Nutan and Waheeda Rehman was popular among the audiences in late 50’s and 60’s. His films Rahee and Aandhiyaan, were screened along with Raj Kapoor's Awaara. From the early fifties till mid sixties, the trio of Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor and Dev Anand ruled the roost.

Romance hero image in the 60s

In the sixties, Dev Anand acquired a romantic image with films like Manzil and Tere Ghar Ke Samne with Nutan, Kinaare Kinaare with Meena Kumari, Maya with Mala Sinha, Asli-Naqli with Sadhana Shivdasani, Jab Pyar Kisise Hota Hai and Mahal with Asha Parekh and Teen Deviyaan opposite three heroines Kalpana, Simi Garewal and Nanda. In the film Teen Deviyaan, Dev Anand played a playboy.

His first colour film, Guide with Waheeda Rehman was based on the novel of the same name by R. K. Narayan. Dev Anand himself was the impetus for making the film version of the book. He met and persuaded Narayan to give his assent to the project. Dev Anand tapped his friends in Hollywood to launch an Indo-US co-production that was shot in Hindi and English simultaneously and was released in 1965. Guide, directed by younger brother Vijay Anand, was an acclaimed movie. Dev played Raju, a voluble guide, who supports Rosy (Waheeda) in her bid for freedom. He is not above thoughtlessly exploiting her for personal gains. Combining style with substance, he gave an affecting performance as a man grappling with his emotions in his passage through love, shame and salvation.

He reunited with Vijay Anand for the movie Jewel Thief, based on thriller genre which featured Vaijayantimala, Tanuja, Anju Mahendru, Faryal and Helen. Their next collaboration, Johny Mera Naam (1970), again a thriller, where Dev was paired opposite Hema Malini was a big hit. It was Johnny Mera Naam which made Hema Malini a big star.

Directorial debut and the 70s

His directorial debut, the espionage drama Prem Pujari, was a flop but has developed a cult following over the years. He tasted success with his 1971 directorial effort, Hare Rama Hare Krishna which talked about the prevalent hippie culture. His find Zeenat Aman, who played the mini-skirt sporting, pot-smoking Janice, became an overnight sensation. Dev also became known as a filmmaker of trenchantly topical themes. This same year, he starred with Mumtaz in Tere Mere Sapne, an adaptation of A. J. Cronin's novel, The Citadel. The film was directed by Dev's brother, Vijay and was also successful.

In the 1970s, Raj Kapoor started playing roles of father in films like Kal Aaj Aur Kal in 1971 and Dharam Karam in 1974 and had put lot of weight and films with Dilip Kumar as lead hero were failures at the box office . Some of the hurriedly-made films with Dev Anand as the leading man—three each opposite Hema Malini and Zeenat Aman and Yeh Gulistaan Hamara with Sharmila Tagore became flops and posed a threat to his career as leading man. But he delivered commercial hits again with young heroines Yogita Bali and Rakhee in Banarasi Babu (1973), Hema Malini in Chhupa Rustam (1973) and Amir Garib (1974), Zeenat Aman in Heera Panna(1973), Warrant(1975) and Darling Darling(1977) and Parveen Babi in Bullet(1976). The presence of his discoveries in the 1970s—Zeenat, and later Tina Munim, in films and his good onscreen chemistry with beautiful young stars like Rakhee, Parveen Babi, Hema Malini, Zeenat Aman in various films boosted Dev's image as the evergreen star even though he was well into his fifties.

Political activism during the Emergency in the late 70s

Dev Anand has also been politically active. He led a group of film personalities who stood up against the Internal Emergency imposed by the then Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi. He actively campaigned against her with his supporters in Indian parliamentary elections in 1977. He also formed a party called the "National Party of India", which he later disbanded.

The 1978 hit Des Pardes, directed by Dev Anand was the debut movie of actress Tina Munim and this film’s success gave him the tag of evergreen hero. He was 55 but he shared very good chemistry with the 20 year old Tina Munim. Dev Anand was offered lead role in Man Pasand by director Basu Chatterjee. Dev Anand’s successful run at the box office continued in the 1980s with Man Pasand, Lootmaar (both opposite Tina Munim), Swami Dada (1982) being both critically acclaimed and box office hits.

Later career

Though Dev Anand’s demand as the lead hero had not decreased even in the 1980s, he decided that it was the right time to introduce his son Suneil Anand in films as the hero. He launched his son in the Kramer vs. Kramer inspired Anand Aur Anand (1984), which was produced and directed by Dev Anand himself and had music by R. D. Burman. He expected the film to do well but the film was a box office disaster and Suneil Anand decided not to act in films any more.

But films with Dev Anand as the lead hero Hum Naujawan (1985), Lashkar (1989) continued to be box office success and was appreciated by critics. Awwal Number (1990), where Dev Anand co-starred with Aamir Khan became an average grosser. Aamir said in an interview that Awwal Number is the only film he signed without reading the script because it was being directed by his senior Dev Anand. Aamir quoted “Dev saab was an icon for many generations and entertained us throughout his life. He was already 60 years old in 1983 when he acted with Padmini Kolhapure in Swami Dada but looked half his age and shared a good on screen chemistry. In 1989, his directorial venture Sachche ka Bolbala was released. Though critically acclaimed, it was a commercial failure.

Since the 1990s except for Awwal Number, rest of the eight films directed by him were box office failures. But Sau Crore (1991) and Censor (2000) were critically acclaimed. His last film Chargesheet (2011) was panned by critics across the board. The only two hero film he acted in were Insaniyat in 1955 with Dilip Kumar and Return of Jewel Thief with Dharmendra in 1996. He also starred in English films like The Evil Within(1970) where he was paired opposite Vietnamese actress Kieu Chinh and Zeenat Aman and Guide (English Version). Off the 114 Hindi films he appeared in 6 decades, Kahin Aur Chal (1968) and multistarrer film Ek Do Teen Chaar (1980) remained unreleased and Shrimanji (1968) had him in guest appearance and 82 were box office hits and 29 were commercial failures. By 2011, he held the record for being the second actor from Hindi films who has played the central solo lead character in maximum films—104, with first being Rajesh Khanna who played author backed solo lead hero in maximum films 106.

Comparisons with Gregory Peck

Often compared to the famous actor Gregory Peck the world over, Dev Anand said that he didn't feel ecstatic bearing the tag line bestowed on him in his hey days. "When you are at an impressionable age you make idols. But when you grow out of the phase, you develop your own persona. I don't want to be known as India's Gregory Peck, I am Dev Anand".

Acquainted to the Bollywood actor, Peck's personal interactions with him spanned four to five long meetings in Europe and Mumbai.

Dev Anand and Suraiya met Peck for the first time at Mumbai's Willingdon Club,after the Filmfare Awards in 1954, on Peck's stopover in the city from a schedule at Sri Lanka after shooting for Purple Plane. He knew of the 'Indian Star' as an actor, more so probably because of his romance with Suraiya was grabbing the headlines, and they had a chat. The second time they met in Rome when Dev Anand was on his way back from the Venice Film Festival, he visited him on the sets of Roman Holiday. "I was returning from the Venice film fest. I stopped my car and joined the crowd watching the shoot, hoping that his eyes would fall on me. As expected, he nodded and I walked up to him. He remembered me and we exchanged pleasantries." The third meeting was at London on the sets of Moby Dick. However, Suraiya asked for an exclusive meeting with her idol at her house. Though Anand says jealousy was natural for anyone in love, he didn't mind that he was not invited. "I didn't quite feel anything. It wasn't as if they were going to fall in love or make love. Even if they would have, it wouldn't have mattered. I was mature enough. Moreover, he wasn't my rival. I too was a big star by then," says Anand.

Critical appraisal

Dev Anand has directed 19 films and produced 35 films of which 7 directorial ventures and 18 films respectively were commercially successful at the box office. He wrote the story for 13 of his films. Critics say his directorial ventures have always been ahead of its time. Dev Anand's films are well known for their hit songs. He is known to have been an active participant in the music sessions of a number of his films. His association with music composers Shankar-Jaikishen, O. P. Nayyar, Kalyanji-Anandji, Sachin Dev Burman and his son Rahul Dev Burman, lyricists Hasrat Jaipuri, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Neeraj, Shailendra, Anand Bakshi, and playback singers Mohammad Rafi, Hemant Kumar and Kishore Kumar produced some very popular songs. S.D Burman, R.D Burman, Rafi, Pran and Kishore Kumar were his closest friends from film industry.

In September 2007, Dev's own autobiography Romancing with Life was released at a birthday party with the Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. In February 2011, his 1961 black and white film Hum Dono was digitised and colourised and released.

Dev Anand is credited with giving actors like Zarina Wahab in Ishq Ishq Ishq, Jackie Shroff in Swami Dada, Tabu in Hum Naujawan and Richa Sharma(Sanjay Dutt’s first wife) a break into the film industry, discovered Zeenat Amaan, Tina Munim and encouraging music composer Rajesh Roshan. Amit Khanna started his career with Navketan as executive producer in 1971 and had been secretary to Dev Anand in 70's. He adds, "The uniqueness of Navketan today is that it's the only film company in the world still run by the one who started it." Shatrughan Sinha disclosed in an interview that it was Dev Anand who gave him a break in films by giving a role in 'Prem Pujari' and since Dev had given Sinha a very small role in that film, he compensated for it by giving Sinha another role in his next film 'Gambler'. Sinha quoted "Later on we worked together in 'Sharif Badmash' and it was really a privilege to work with him,". It was under Dev Anand's Navketan Banner where Guru Dutt, Raj Khosla, Waheeda Rahman, S.D. Burman, Jaidev, Sahir Ludhianvi, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Yash Johar, Shekhar Kapoor, Kabir Bedi were given breaks into Hindi films and Dev launched actors Zaheera, Zaheeda Hussain, Zarina Wahab, Natasha Sinha, Ekta Sohini, Sabrina.

Death

Dev Anand died in his room at The Washington Mayfair Hotel in London at the age of 88 on 3 December 2011 (4 December 2011 by Indian Standard Time) of a cardiac arrest. His death came just months after the release of his last film, Charge Sheet. Anand was reportedly in London for a medical check up at the time of his death. Condolences poured in from all corners of the Indian film industry, with most of them remembering his positive attitude towards life. On 10 December, his funeral service was held at a small chapel in London after which his casket was taken to the Putney Vale Crematorium in South West London for cremation. His ashes were returned to India for immersion burial in the Godavari river.

Awards, honors and recognitions

Civilian Honors

2001 – Padma Bhushan (India's third highest civilian award from the Government of India)

National Film Awards

2002 – Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India's highest award for cinematic excellence.

Filmfare Awards

1959 - Winner Best Actor for Kalapani 

1967 - Winner Best Film for Guide 

1967 - Winner Best Actor for Guide

1991 - Winner Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award

National honors and recognitions

1996 – Star Screen Lifetime Achievement Award

1997 – Mumbai Academy of Moving Images Award for his Outstanding Services to the Indian Film Industry

1998 – Lifetime Achievement Award by the Ujala Anandlok Film Awards Committee in Calcutta

1999 – Sansui Lifetime Achievement Award for his 'Immense Contribution to Indian Cinema' in New Delhi

2000 – Film Goers' Mega Movie Maestro of the Millennium Award in Mumbai

2001 – Special Screen Award for his contribution to Indian cinema

2001 – Evergreen Star of the Millennium Award at the Zee Gold Bollywood Awards on 28 April 2001 

            at the Nassau Coliseum, New York

2003 – Lifetime Achievement Award for "Outstanding Achievement in Indian Cinema" at IIFA Award

             in Johannesburg, South Africa 

2004 – Legend of Indian Cinema Award at Atlantic City (United States) 

2004 – Living Legend Award by the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) 

            in recognition of his contribution to the Indian entertainment industry

2005 – Sony Golden Glory Award

2006 – ANR Award by the Akkineni International Foundation

2006 – Glory of India Award by IIAF, London

2007 – Punjab Ratan (Jewel of Punjab) Award by the World Punjabi Organisation (European Division) 

            for his outstanding contribution in the field of art and entertainment.

2008 – Lifetime Achievement Award by Ramya Cultural Academy in association with Vinmusiclub

2008 – Lifetime Achievement Award by Rotary Club of Bombay

2008 – Awarded at the IIJS Solitaire Awards

2009 – Outstanding contribution to Indian cinema at the Max Stardust Awards

2009 – Legend Award was given to Dev Anand by Rajnikanth

2010 – Phalke Ratna Award by Dadasaheb Phalke Academy

2010 – Rashtriya Gaurav Award

2011 – Rashtriya Kishore Kumar Samman from the Government of Madhya Pradesh

2011 – NDTV Indian of the Year's Lifetime Achievement Award with Rahul Dravid

International honors and recognitions

In July 2000, in New York City, he was honoured by an Award at the hands of the then First Lady of the

                 United States of America, Hillary Rodham Clinton, for his 'Outstanding Contribution to Indian 

                  Cinema'.

In 2000, he was awarded the Indo-American Association "Star of the Millennium" Award in the 

              Silicon Valley, California.

Donna Ferrar, Member New York State Assembly, honoured him with a "New York State Assembly Citation" for his 'Outstanding Contribution to the Cinematic Arts Worthy of the Esteem and Gratitude of the Great State of New York' on 1 May 2001.

In 2005, he was honoured with a "Special National Film Award" by the Government of Nepal at 

              Nepal’s first NationIndian film festival in Stockholm.

In 2008, he was guest of honour at a dinner hosted by the Provost of Highland Council in Inverness,

            Scotland to celebrate 10 years since he first worked in the Scottish Highlands. He spent several days 

             in the area, en route to Cannes, as a guest of the Highlands and Islands Film Commission.

Dara Singh - The Great

Dara Singh (19 November 1928 – 12 July 2012) was an Indian wrestler-turned-actor from Indian Punjab. He started acting in 1952 and was the first sportsman to be nominated to the Rajya Sabha. He has also worked as Hindi and Punjabi film producer, director and writer in his career. He has also been an Indian television actor.

Early life

Dara Singh was born on 19 November[citation needed] in 1928 in the village of Dharmuchak, which was then a part of British Punjab and as of 2012 is in Amritsar district. His birthname was Deedar Singh Randhawa and his parents — Surat Singh and Balwant Kaur — were Jat Sikhs.

Career

Wrestling

As an adult he was 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) tall, weighed 132 kilograms (290 lb) and had a chest measurement of 54 inches (140 cm). Due to his physique, he was encouraged to take up Pehlwani, an Indian style of wrestling. He wrestled by invitation of the kings of Indian princely states and wrestled frequently in haats and melas (fairs and carnivals).

Singh left his village for Singapore in 1948.

All India Jat Mahasabha Centenary Celebrations 2007, Seen in the image are Dharmendra, Dara Singh (sitting in center bearing turban) and Kamal Patel

His last tournament, where he announced his retirement, was held in Delhi in 1983, inaugurated by Rajiv Gandhi and the winning trophy was presented by Giani Zail Singh. In 1996 he was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame.

Films and television

He started his career as an actor in 1952 with Sangdil. He was confined to B-grade roles for many years and played his first lead role in Babubhai Mistry's film King Kong (1962). From around 1963 he partnered often with Mumtaz. With her he performed in 16 Hindi films and the couple became the highest-paid B-grade actors, with Singh receiving nearly four lakh rupees per film. He then went on to do television in the late 1980s, where he played the role of Hanuman in the television adaptation of the Hindu epic Ramayan. He was liked more in the role of 'Bheem Sen' in films like Veer Bheem Sen and Ramayan and in role of 'Hanuman' both in films and TV serial. He worked with Prathviraj Kapoor in Sikander-e-Aazam, Khakaan, Lootera, Daku Mangalsingh and Insaaf. He also played the Alexander in Sikander-e-Aazam. He worked in some television serial shows, including Had Kar Di which was aired on Zee TV and Kyaa Hoga Nimmo Kaa for StarOne. His last Hindi movie was Jab We Met and last Punjabi movie released before his illness was Dil Apna Punjabi. He acted in National Award winning film Main Maa Punjab Dee directed by Balwant Singh Dullat. He directed seven Punjabi films of which Sawa Lakh Se Ek Ladaun, Nanak Dukhiya Sub Sansar, Dhyanu Bhagat, Rab Dian Rakhan were commercial hits,[citation needed] and directed two films in Hindi, Bhakti Mein Shakti and Rustom (1982). His directorial venture Bhakti Mein Shakti, a mythological film, completed a record run at Delhi's Imperial Cinema in 1978. He produced 8 films and wrote the story for 7 films. These films were produced and directed under the banner "Dara Film" which he setup in 1970.

Dara Studio

Singh was also the owner of Dara Studio at Mohali, District Mohali, Punjab. Dara Film Studio was founded in 1978. The Studio is operational from 1980 as film studio.

Politics

Singh became the first sportsman to be nominated to the Rajya Sabha - the upper house of the Parliament of India. He served in that role between 2003 and 2009. He was also president of the Jat Mahasabha.

Death

He was admitted in Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital on 7 July 2012 following a cardiac arrest. He was released from hospital on 11 July in deference to the wishes of his family. He died on 12 July 2012 at his home in Mumbai. He was cremated at Juhu crematorium.

Personal life

Dara Singh married twice. He had a son, Parduman Singh Randhawa, from his first marriage and from his second marriage he had five children: two sons and three daughters including Vindu Dara Singh, who is a film and television actor.

Awards and accomplishments

Other awards and accomplishments of Dara Singh are:

National Wrestling Alliance: Canadian Open Tag Team Champion, with Yukon Eric

Rustam-e-Hind, 1954[4]

Rustam-e-Punjab, 1966

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame

Class of 1996

Filmography

As actor

1952 Sangdil

1954 Pehli Jhalak                       Wrestler Dara Singh

1959 Jagga Daku                       Jagga Daku

1962 King Kong                        Jingu / King Kong

1963 Faulad                              Amar

1963 Rustom-E-Baghdad                 Dara/Rustom-E-Baghdad

1963 Awara Abdulla                           Abdulla

1964 Samson                             Samson

1964 Aandhi Aur Toofan

1964 Darasingh: Ironman            Dara Singh

1965 Rustom-E-Hind

1965 Boxer

1965 Sher Dil

1965 Raaka

1965 Sikandar-E-Azam               Alexander

1965 Lootera

1966 Naujawan

1966 Veer Bajrang

1966 Dada

1966 Daku Mangal Singh            Daku Mangal Singh/ Kumar

1966 Jawan Mard

1967 Do Dushman

1967 Watan Se Door

1968 Thief of Baghdad

1968 Jung Aur Aman

1968 Balram Shri Krishna                 Balram

1969 Toofan                                 Badal

1970 Choron Ka Chor                 Ashok

1970 Ilzaam                                 Raju/Kishan

1970 Mera Naam Joker                      Sher Singh

1970 Nanak Dukhiya Sab Sansar Kartar Singh                                

1971 Kabhi Dhoop Kabhi Chhaon

1971 Ramu Ustad                          Ramu

1971 Tulsi Vivah                          Bhagwan Shiv

1971 Anand                                 Pahalwan                                         

1972 Aankhon Aankhon Mein            Pahelwan

1972 Hari Darshan                          Bhagwan Shiv

1972 Lalkaar

1972 Mele Mitran De                                                                

1972 Sultana Daku

1975 Warrant                              Pyaara Singh

1973 Hum Sab Chor Hain

1973 Mera Desh Mera Dharam

1974 Kuwara Baap  

1974 Bhagat Dhanna Jatt                  Dhanna Jatt

1974 Dukh Bhanjan Tera Naam          Daku Daulay Khan

1974 Har Har Mahadev                     Bhagwan Shiv

1974 Kisan Aur Bhagwan                  Dhanna

1974 Zehreela Insaan

1975 Dharam Karam                  Ustaad ji

1975 Dharmatma                         Pahelwan

1976 Bajrangbali                        Hanuman

1976 Lambhardarni                         Lambardar/Dharma                            

1976 Raakhi Aur Rifle                 Ganga Singh

1976 Sawa Lakh Se Ek Ladaun         Kartar Singh                                    

1976 Apna Khoon Apna Dushman

1977 Jai Bolo Chakradhari

1977 Ram Bharose                          Sardar Vikram Singh

1978 Bhakti Mein Shakti                  Dyanu Bhakt

1978 Dhyanu Bhagat Dhyanu Bhagat                                                            

1978 Nalayak                              Pahelwan

1978 Sone Ka Dil Lohe Ke Haath  Nihalchand

1978 Giddha                                  Bhalwaan Dulla ji

1979 Chambal Ki Raani

1981 Guru Suleman Chela Pahelwan

1981 Khel Muqaddar Ka

1982 Main Intequam Loonga             Ajay Kumar

1982 Rustom                                 Rustom Mangal Singh

1983 Babul Da Vehra                                                                    

1983 Unkhili Muttiar Mechanic                                                                     

1984 Aan Aur Shaan

1985 Mutharamkunnu P.O.          Himself                                              

1985 Mard                                  Raja Azaad Singh

1986 Karma                                       Dharma

1986 Bulekha

1986 Krishna-Krishna                   Bhagwan Shri Balram

1986 Ramayan                                    Hanuman                                      

1986 Sajna Sath Nibhana                   Joseph

1986 Maaveeran                                                                               

1988 Maula Jatt                                    Maula Jatt & Dharma

1988 Paanch Fauladi                            Ustadji (Fauladi #1)

1988 Mahaveera                            Delar Singh

1988 Mahabharat                                 Hanuman                                       

1989 Shehzaade                            Jailor

1989 Elaan-E-Jung                               Bheema

1989 Gharana                                    Vijay Singh Pahelwan

1990 Tera Mera Pyar                           Preet's dad

1990 Naaka Bandi                                Dharam Singh

1990 Pratigya                                     Daku Delavar Singh

1990 Sheran De Putt Sher                     Subedaar

1991 Dharam Sankat                             Dara (the dacoit)

1991 Ajooba                                         Maharaja Karan Singh

1991 Maut Ki Sazaa                             Pyara Singh

1992 Prem Deewane                             Loha Singh

1993 Bechain

1993 Anmol                                     Dara Shamsher, Zafar's father

1994 Karan

1995 Ram Shastra                                 Police Commissioner

1997 Lav Kush                                      Hanuman

1997 Main Maa Punjab Dee                                                               

1998 Guru Gobind Singh

1998 Auto Driver                                                                                

1998 Qahar                              Guest appearance

1999 Dillagi

1999 Zulmi                                      Baba Thakur

2000 Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge                Sapna's grandfather                       

2001 Farz Tayaji

2002 Shararat                                         Mr. Gujral

2003 Kal Ho Naa Ho                             Chaddha uncle

2003 Border Hindustan Ka               Jamail Singh

2004 Family Business                                                                         

2006 Kyaa Hoga Nimmo Kaa                Amardeep Sehgal (Dadaji)                

2006 Dil Apna Punjabi                            Hardam Singh

2007 Jab We Met                                   Geet's grandfather