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. This footage is part of the broadcast stock footage archive of Wilderness Films India Ltd., the largest collection of HD imagery from South Asia. The collection comprises of 150, 000+ hours of high quality broadcast imagery, mostly shot on 4K, 200 fps slow motion, Full HD, HDCAM 1080i High Definition, Alexa and XDCAM. Write to us for licensing this footage on a broadcast format, for use in your production! We are happy to be commissioned to film for you or else provide you with broadcast crewing and production solutions across South Asia. We pride ourselves in bringing the best of India and South Asia to the world... Please subscribe to our channel wildfilmsindia on Youtube    / wildfilmsindia   for a steady stream of videos from across India. Also, visit and enjoy your journey across India at www.clipahoy.com , India's first video-based social networking experience. Reach us at rupindang [at] gmail [dot] com and [email protected] To SUBSCRIBE click the below link: www.youtube.com/subscription_center?a... Like & Follow Us on: Facebook: www.facebook.com/WildernessFilmsIndiaLimited Website: www.wildfilmsindia.com