“It was his and his family’s wish that he should spend his last moments at home,” Agarwal said.
Born in Punjab in 1928, Singh trained in the Indian “Pehlwani” wrestling style before joining the sport professionally, going on to become Commonwealth wrestling champion in 1959 and world wrestling champion in 1968.
He took up acting in the 1950s, carving his niche with tough man roles in Bollywood films such as King Kong, Hercules, Samson and Tarzan comes to Delhi. His popularity peaked in the 1980s when he played the monkey god Hanuman in the popular television series of Ramayan, an adaptation of the Hindu epic, and he appeared in more than 140 films.
His last movie appearance was in Jab We Met (When We Met) in 2007, playing the role of grandfather to leading Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh led the tributes, expressing his sadness at Singh’s death and describing him as a “noted film personality and an internationally acclaimed wrestler.”
Veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan, writing on Twitter, described Singh as “a great Indian and one of the finest humans. An entire era of his celebrated presence gone!”
“Dara was a gem of a man, earthy and robust, with a heart of gold. I pray for his soul and for the family to bear the loss with fortitude,” tweeted veteran actor Dilip Kumar.
Industrialist Anand Mahindra recalled how during his school days, any strong guy was a “Dara Singh.” Director and actress Farah Khan paid tribute to “the first-ever action hero of our country, rest in peace.”
At a “grand old age” of 83, Dara Singh “used to stride down Juhu beach, body erect, smile on his face at a pace faster than 20-year-olds,” filmmaker Shekhar Kapur recalled.
Singh is survived by his wife, three sons and three daughters. One of his sons, Vindu Dara Singh, is a known name in showbiz.
“Angel now gone to shine like a star up above,” Vindu said.
Celebrities including Manoj Kumar, Abhishek Bachchan, Tabu, Rajpal Yadav and Anu Malik visited Dara Singh’s residence to pay condolences to the family.
His funeral at the Ville Parle Crematorium in the afternoon also saw an overwhelming turnout of people with moist eyes.
Singh’s last journey seemed to be a celebration of the great and genuine man that he was – his body was taken to the funeral spot in a mini truck decked up with flowers.
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