A comedian and a big name in Haryanvi cinema who had enthralled and made people laugh, passed away at the age of 85 leaving his fans, family and co-actors them in a state of pain and sorrow. Dariyao Singh Malik is known for his iconic hilarious character in movie Chandrawal released in Haryanvi dialect in 1985 which brought him laurels as well as the Haryana in the arenas of cinema. It is a noticeable fact that Haryana’s first superhit film Chandrawal paved new paths for several Haryanvi artists giving them name and fame, and Daryao Singh Malik was one of them who later gave new dimensions to the Haryanvi film industry. But now the superstar of Haryanvi culture has gone to heavenly abode, his name will always be counted among the oldest and most popular people in the Haryanvi cinema. He was born in Ugrakhedi village of Panipat district and hailed from Jat community.
Malik was well known for his wit and humour, and had played comic roles in different movies which gave him the heights of recognition in Haryana that few people are destined to achieve. He did not prove his mettle in Haryanvi cinema only, but also worked in Bollywood. Sharing an experience about him, Director and Producer Harvinder Malik said, “What here is of paramount importance is that the veteran and renowned Bollywood actor Prem Chopra was rejected for a role in movie namely ‘Mere Dad Ki Maruti’ released by arguably the biggest banner in Bollywood namely Yash raj banner.”
“Around 200 screen tests were conducted for the selection of the aforesaid role. Following the screen test, Dariyao Singh Malik was selected for the role,” the director said.
Malik was a President awardee. His name was sent by the government for the President’s Award in 2006 for his priceless contribution to Haryana cinema as well as the arena of Art, and the then President APJ Abdul Kalam honoured him with the accolade. Once Malik had said that no Jat has been honoured with the President’s Award in the field of Art and Haryanvi cinema so far, and he feels honouned for the same. He had earlier started his career with the program run by All India Radio which gave him recognition and fame at a large scale across all sections of the society. This all-rounder and talented artist had worked in a total of 19 Haryanvi films as well as in theatre. He was equally popular among youth for his comedy.