2024-04-23 15:30:40
Year 1997. Serial ‘Om Namah Shivaye’. Knew Doordarshan. In this the glory of Lord Shiva was shown very well. And played the role. By Samar Jai Singh. Not only in this serial, but he also worked in other mythological serials and sometimes even played Karna and Indrajit. He also worked in films and played different characters. But he got recognition only from Doordarshan’s TV serials. However, for him, getting into acting was no less than a sacrifice. Because he had put his advocacy at stake. How, let us explain in detail. ‘Om Namah Shivay’ was the first serial in the TV world, which became famous because of the character of Lord Shiva. People have not forgotten this even today. Its songs, its characters, everything is alive in his mind. Samar Jai Singh was born on 26 September 1966 in Indore. His father was a doctor by profession and mother a housewife. He has an elder brother who is a doctor. Cousin is also a doctor. But he was fond of cricket since childhood. He used to play it and had decided that he would not do a 9 to 6 job. Although at that time he did not understand what he had to do. But he did not want to do office-office work. He was good in studies so he did graduation in law. But when he was doing his masters. That is, when he was giving the final year examination of LLM, he got his first serial. For that he left his studies and started shooting for that serial. However, only 4 episodes were shot and after that he got stuck in court troubles.
Samar Jai Singh was studying law
In an interview given to ‘Dainik Bhaskar’, Samar Jai Singh had told that he graduated from Government College of Law, Churchgate, Mumbai. This incident happened in 1989-90, when he came here from Indore. As soon as he came here, the bug of acting entered his mind. He wanted to become a hero. Did LLM after LLB. But could not appear in his last year exams. Because Prakash Mehra, who was making ‘Samrat Ashoka’, had offered the lead role to Samar. In such a situation, the shooting dates were clashing with the exam days. So he decided to leave his studies and enter acting.
Samar Jai Singh’s very first show reached the court
Samar Jai Singh auditioned twice for Prakash Mehra’s ‘Samrat Ashoka’. After this he was selected. Earlier the director wanted to cast a famous actor. But luck favored him and he got this role. However it could not be released. According to the actor, the then well-known director and producer OP Ralhan was also making a show with the same name. In such a situation, Prakash Mehra and his script became almost similar or what happened was that there was a dispute. OP Ralhan accused Prakash Mehra of taking his script. Then the matter went to Delhi High Court and after shooting of four episodes, it was shelved.
Samar Jai Singh was unemployed for two and a half years
After the departure of that serial from the hands of Samar Jai Singh, nothing good happened for two years. He remained unemployed. Kept sitting at home. He told the reason behind this was that he had a two-year contract with Prakash Mehra, which he had signed. But the serial was not made. In such a situation, he could not break the contract and could not work elsewhere. That’s why he could not do anything for two-two and a half years. The director had also spent a lot of money on the show. The plan was also to give the film to Samar but there was a huge loss.
That’s why Samar Jai Singh did ‘Om Namah Shivay’
Samar Jai Singh again got ‘Om Namah Shivay’. Although it was not easy. Because he got the role of Lord Shiva and there were 74 auditions before him for that character. He was the 75th person who auditioned for this role. Although he did not want to do this show. He was hopeful that work on ‘Samrat Ashoka’ would start again soon. However this did not happen. He decided to work in it for money. According to the actor, the shooting of this serial started two and a half months ago. But his character was not introduced. well. He started working for this. Shot and left its indelible mark on the hearts and minds of the people of the 90s.
People started considering Samar Jai Singh as Lord Shiva.
He had told that when his serial became popular, people started seeing him as Lord Shiva. He had told, ‘When this show started coming, people used to think that I am Lord Shiva. Wherever he went a crowd would gather. However, I did not want them to recognize me, so I remained very hidden. Once when I went to Indore for shooting, I went to the gym wearing shorts and T-shirt. Now the sweeper there recognized him and said loudly that Shivji has come. Shivji has come. Within no time a huge crowd gathered.
Samar Jai Singh regrets doing ‘Om Namah Shivay’
Samar Jai Singh told that he got a lot of love from the people but no work in films. He said that because of playing the role of Shivji, he was rejected from the films at the last moment. The makers felt that after seeing him, the image of Bhole Baba would immediately come to people’s minds. Therefore they will not be able to see him in another role. well. Later he worked in many films but could not become famous. However, initially he felt that it would have been better if he had not done this role. Would have got second chances. Due to the image of God, many jobs had stopped coming. But now he feels that people’s love and praise is more important.
Samar Jai Singh’s contract for ‘Om Namah Shivay’
The actor had signed the contract only for 52 episodes of OM Namah Shivaya serial. When it was completed, it was not renewed again. Then worked with Sunny Deol and Ameesha Patel in ‘Gadar- Ek Prem Katha’. Played the role of a Pakistani Army officer in it. The movie was a hit but the actor did not get any benefit. After this he made a comeback in TV with shows like ‘Mahashakti’, ‘Vishnu Purana’, ‘Amar Chitra Katha’.
Samar Jai Singh’s wife and children
Samar Jai Singh got married in the year 2003. This was an arranged marriage. His wife is a resident of Udaipur. She is also a housewife. They have a 20 year old daughter, who is studying film making from Mumbai University. Whereas, the second daughter is 18 years old and is doing a course in mass media. The actor has played Under-19 cricket at school and college level before acting. However it was later abandoned. The actor currently posts motivational videos on social media. Shares videos of workshops, where he tells about the nuances of acting.