PTI

New Delhi: Tejeshwar Singh, the man who had a statesque appeal, known best for his well kept beard and deep baritone voice, breathed his last on Saturday night.

Well known Doordarshan news reader of yesteryear, he suffered a massive heart attack.

60-year old Singh was staple fare for viewers of the DD news slot in the 1980s and early 90s when cable TV had not arrived in India. He came in on the newsreading scene in India when the profession was largely monopolized by women

Capitalizing on his good looks, he made a brief foray into Bollywood, essaying the role of a villain, who went under the moniker “DD”, in Naseeruddin Shah starrer ‘Jalwa´ in 1987. Though offers were still coming in, he decided to do what he was best doing, and settled down in the publishing business.

Son of distinguished diplomat Gurbachan Singh, the news anchor and theatre actor founded Sage Publications in the 80s.Starting in 1981 as a one-man show, today, it is riding the publishing boom that India is slowly, yet steadily, witnessing with its operations having expanded manifold.

Singh was in the printing business before venturing into news anchoring and earned success by taking outsourced publishing work from Europe and the US. Sage Publications acquired much of its reputation, thanks to the unblemished integrity and hard work of Tejeshwar.