The Model Citizen
From being a former Mr. India to the founder of multiple social service organisations, the versatile Darasing Khurana continues to make India proud.
Born in the small town of Parbhani in Maharashtra, India, Darasing Khurana dreamt of the life most small-town kids do – To live in a big city with a nice house and fancy car. Yet unlike most dreamers, Dara is actually living his dream life with empathy and hard work.
Growing up in Parbhani, Dara moved to Pune and Mumbai to pursue higher studies and completed his MBA from the prestigious Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS). While he was still studying, his friend offered him a post of an assistant stylist, which adventurous Dara was happy to accept. Actor-Host Maniesh Paul became his first client, followed by Hrithik Roshan, Siddharth Malhotra, Vidyut Jammwal, among others.
“I styled Hrithik for the Mr. India 2016 event. When he returned, he encouraged me to participate in it, which never happened in the scheme of things.”
Few are aware that when Dara was 14, he won the Mr Parbhani title. One day while at a crossroad, he saw a hoarding for the Mr. India competition. With Hrithik’s words still ringing in his ears, he applied for it and won the title in 2017. “It put me on an international platform and proved to be the biggest jump in my career.”
Upon returning, Dara was flooded with modelling and acting offers, and even shot an international song. But 2020 brought the pandemic as well as something which changed Dara’s life forever.
“Sushant Singh Rajput’s demise shocked the nation, especially me, as I had known him personally and styled him often. He was a visionary. While we dreamt of buying a penthouse on Marine Drive, he bought a plot on the Moon.”
Sushant’s memory motivated Dara to launch – Pause.Breathe.Talk, an initiative to provide affordable therapy sessions for mental health and wellness. This was just the start. Dara also became the country brand ambassador for a blood stem cell donor organisation called Datri, and supported Punar Janm during Covid, an NGO working in India and America to take up education of kids who lost their parents to Covid. “My aim is to not just to make a life for myself, but touch other lives too.”
A model, actor, radio jockey, entrepreneur and philanthropist – Dara has been the recipient of various global honours: Lions Gold Award as ‘Philanthropist of the year 2022’; Honoured with the title ‘Global Peace Ambassador’ by an American University in 2021; Indian Achiever’s Award 2019; Style Icon of the year 2018 at Rajasthan Style Awards; Wow Starlite Excellence Award 2018; Most Promising Face of the year 2017, among others.
Never one to sit idle, the pandemic saw Dara at his creative best. During this period, he launched his digital marketing firm DSK Consultants which boasts an envious line-up of international clients; started a construction project in his hometown of Parbhani; and worked on his debut Punjabi film ‘Bai Ji Kuttange’, opposite Miss Universe 2021 Harnaaz Sandhu, which released recently to rave reviews.
It can’t be easy to multi-task all at once, we ask Dara, who replies, “I have always been a free bird. I like to explore whatever interesting is offered to me. Thankfully I have no pressure, but when things get monotonous, I break the monotony by doing something different. Right now, I’m really enjoying hosting shows and moderating sessions.”
Dara’s love for exploring the new also spills over to his passion for travelling and he tells us how he likes to take long vacations to experience a country’s lifestyle, people and cuisine. Hard to believe, but he’s a self confessed foodie who has been to more than 40 countries. His only challenge? Sleep, which he can never seem to get enough of.
Happily married to his celebrity publicist wife Mona Darasing Khurana, there are 2 other women whom Dara feels inspired by – his Parbhani school principal Dr. Fauzia Khan, and former Sheriff of Mumbai Indu Shahani, both of whom are strong women leaders.
As our conversation draws to a close, Dara tells us that having travelled the world and working in different fields, he feels “content in his heart”, yet, there is something that keeps him going – “Having a stranger tell me I changed their life. There is no bigger happiness than saving lives and spreading smiles,” he insists.
