Vindu Dara Singh reveals family secrets and his father's dying wish

It’s a tough time for late Dara Singh’s wife Surjeet Kaur, Dara Singh’s brother Sardara Singh Randhawa, Randhawa’s wife Malka and the children. Dara Singh’s son candidly admits he has a half-brother whose wellbeing is now Vindu’s responsibility after Dara Singh’s demise. Says Vindu, “We are 5 siblings,…actually 6. My father has a son from another marriage. His first marriage happened when he was barely 14. My half-brother has always been a part of the family. In fact he was there for all the rituals after my father’s death. In deference to my father’s wish my half-brother has always been a part the family. He will remain so. In fact more so now with my father gone. As my father’s eldest born it’s my duty to make his responsibilities are fulfilled. In fact we in this family are very high on responsibilities. To this day I look after my ex-wife Farha Naaz and son Fateh although we separated long back and she took away my son Fateh.” Will the family patriarch’s death also bring Vindu’s son Fateh back to him? Growing somewhat pensive hours after his father’s cremation Vindu says, “I don’t think so. Fateh will remain with his mother. Farha is a fantastic mother to Fateh. She left with him and we’ve never looked back after that, though I continue to look after them.” Vindu continues, “In our family we respect and acknowledge all religion and my father encouraged every kind of culture and lifestyle. My brother is married to a Gujarati. My sister is married to an American. I married a Muslim and now I’m married to a Christian. Religious intolerance was intolerable to me. That was the main bone of contention between us. When Farha decided to leave with our son I didn’t try to stop her. I didn’t even try to meet him after they left although I missed him so much. Farha had to call and ask me, ‘Don’t you want to see your son. Today we’re friends. Farha, Tabu and Aunty (their mom) were here for Dad’s funeral.” Mention of the funeral makes Vindu sentimental. “Not since Mohd Rafi Saab’s funeral had so many people turned up to wish anyone from Bollywood adieu. My father was a genuinely good human being. He is the only person besides Pran Saab—and he comes second—about whom no one has anything bad to say. That’s why we aren’t mourning his going away. We’re all sitting and smiling and even laughing remembering what a wonderful human being Dad was. On Thursday after the funeral Anil Kapoor dropped in at home. Someone suggested we should stop the jovial mood. Who kya sochega? But I said, ‘Let’s feel the way we feel and behave the way we feel’. My father went after living a full life. For the last four days when he hovered between this world and that, the kind of response I got just blew my mind. In the last four days there have been 2 lakh tweets and after his death I have to respond to over a 1,000 sms as soon as I get breathing space.” Vindu says there are absolutely no hang-ups about being a giant’s son. “Not at all. I am proud to be Dara Singh’s son. He was very proud of me, especially after I won on Bigg Boss and started getting good work and making good money. He always encouraged his children to do what we wanted, never stopped us from doing anything. We were all allowed to fail once in our class exams. Because we had the freedom to fail we never did. He encouraged me to have my drinks at home, rather than go out and drink in public places. In fact on the night before he passed away we shared a drink together….my dad wasn’t scared of dying. He was scared my mother would go before him. ‘Mujhe chhod ke mat jaana,’ he told her some months ago. Now he’s gone leaving her behind. We need to look after her even more now.” Vindu reveals he never moved out of the Dara Singh residence because all his siblings did. “They all got married and moved away. How could I leave my parents alone? If in their autumnal years they had to live alone what was the point of having so many children? I made a pledge to myself I’d stay with my parents, and I did.” Now there’s a yearning to carry the father’s legacy forward. Vindu is planning to put together his father’s amazing story in a documentary film. “It’s important to let future generations know what my father was all about. He always said, ‘I’ve made enough money for all you children to live comfortably forever. If you can’t build on my legacy don’t diminish it either.’ I’d like to carry his name forward. Dara Singh is a metaphor for strength and power. I’d like to think I can shoulder that legacy.”