Dara's last venture

Dara Singh and the doyen of Hindi theatre, Satyadev Dubey, will be seen together in a film titled Ata Pata Laapata, directed by Rajpal Yadav, who also plays the lead in it.

The film, a musical political satire, will see Dubey playing a theatre actor ‘a la’ Sir Lawrence Olivier’s portrayal of Shakespeare and Dara Singh as the owner of a drama company.

Fortunately, Ata Pata Laapata has been completed and will be released in October.

It is dedicated to Dubey and Singh. Rajpal says, “When Satyadev Dubey ji agreed to be in my film, I felt I had achieved something great in life. And after that, Dara Singh ji also agreed to be part of my film.  Satyadevji would say, ‘Don’t hesitate in correcting me if I am going wrong’. Dara ji was so professional — in spite of his failing health — and so childlike in his enthusiasm about his role. By the time we came to his dubbing, he was too ill to travel.

So, we recorded his dubbing at his home. We did try to get voices of mimic artistes to match Dara ji’s voice. But it was impossible. Of the 175 actors in the movie, only 20 have acted in films while the rest are from theatre.”