text: Dara Singh (born November 19, 1928) is a wrestler and film actor from Amritsar, Punjab (India) in India.[1] He was a well-known wrestler before he started acting in Hindi films in 1962.[2]\n\nHe is a former multi-timer World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion. Dara Singh has competed against some of the greatest names in wrestling history including the great Lou Thesz whom he defeated.\n\nDara Singh is from India's state of Punjab. Due to his physique [3] he was encouraged to study Pehlwani, an Indian style of wrestling, in the milked sand wrestling pits of India called akhara. Dara Singh was a favourite in wrestling tournaments in India. In addition to this he wrestled on invitation of the kings of various Indian princely states and wrestled frequently in haats and meals (fairs and carnivals). He also successfully competed against professional wrestlers in the United States.\n\nUpon his return to India he gained unprecedented popularity by having bouts of wrestling across the country in the 1940s and 50s. He than translated this to celluloid fame by making a large number of B grade films which had him in the lead. One of his noticeable finds was the actress Mumtaz. He then went on to 1980s and 90s T.V fame when he played the role of Hanuman in the television adaptation of the epic Ramayana. The series is amongst the most widely viewed in history. He has acted in over 100 films