Kannada
actor Rajkumar passes away
Bangalore:
Veteran Kannada matinee idol Rajkumar died here on Wednesday
at the age of 78 following a cardiac arrest. Raj Kumar was
admitted to the Wockhardt Hospital and Heart Institute on
Monday, and then was subsequently shifted to the M S Ramaiah
Hospital, where he breathed his last in the presence of
his family members. He is survived by wife Parvathamma and
his son Raghavendra. In February, he was admitted to the
Wockhardt Hospital after he complained of breathing difficulty
and chest pain. Doctors at the hospital had then said that
the death of his younger brother Vardaraj a fortnight ago
had personally affected him. Vardaraj had managed Raj Kumar's
film career. Family members said that the Amitabh Bachchan
of the South Indian film industry had been ailing for sometime.
People from all walks of life, including political leaders,
members of the Kannada film industry, have started visiting
the late actor's residence to pay their respects. His personal
physician, Dr Ramana Rao, said that every attempt was made
to revive him, but without much success.
In 2000, Rajkumar survived a 108-day ordeal in the Satyamangalam
forests of Karnataka after brigand Veerappan kidnapped him
along the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border. For this Padma Bhushan
and Dadasaheb Phalke Award winner and the recipient of nearly
nine state awards (for the best actor), 10 Filmfare Awards
and even a National Award in the Best Singer category--
the title of `Nata Saarvabhowma` (the Emperor of Acting)
conferred by his fans, spoke volumes of the man, considered
an undisputed cult figure in Karnataka.
The legend, Mutturaju Singanalluru Puttaswamayya, was born
on April 24, 1929 at Gajanur in Tamil Nadu before he was
christened `Rajkumar` for the Karnataka celluloid world
by director HLN Simha, who discovered the would-be-matinee
idol at a bus depot and signed him on as a full-fledged
hero for the film `Bedara Kannappa` in 1954. The discovery
not only rewrote the destiny of the 25-year-old Muthuraj
but also that of the entire film history of the Kannada
film world for the next 50 years. Having inherited his theatre
artiste-father Sinanallur Puttaswamaiah`s acting genes,
his tryst with the grease paint subsequently turned into
a successful venture. His father was a doyen among stage
actors - a fire-brand of sorts. His life was totally devoted
to the stage - nothing beyond paint, and make-up. Rajkumar's
father did not also acknowledge the proviso of a good education.
Characteristically, he only fostered his gifted son, the
young Muthuraj - Rajkumar's real name - to take interest
in drama and plays, and also sing. Rajkumar developed a
penchant for the silver screen and he strolled his way into
it, when Kannada cinema was still in its infancy. Many of
Rajkumar's films had seen the jubilee mark. At selective
instance, his films ran to packed houses for several months,
even one or two years. Nostalgia has it that every Rajkumar
starrer, on the day of release, used to unleash a festive
flavour of colour and splendor, at different centres, all
over Karnataka. Until late 1980s, it was not uncommon for
one to witness stampedes following frenzied fans' emotional
paroxysms to getting tickets. While some centers, or most
of them, used to become a Mecca for black-marketers, with
tickets sold in multiples, or even more fanciful rates,
Rajkumar, perforce, mindful of the hazards his fans were
often subject to, seldom disappointed them. Rajkumar's movies
always had a social message - the mother being given the
highest place in practically every movie. So were good values,
ethics, cultural ideals, and an all-penetrating mosaic of
Kannada ethos, and 'patriotism.'
Rajkumar
was everyone's hero - he identified himself with the commonman,
not the elite, even though his cultured presence on the
screen appeal to the most sophisticated. This is his stamp.
And, his tour de force in films such as "Hannele Chiguridaga,"
"Kasturi Nivasa," "Uyyale," "Eradu Kanasu," "Bhakta Kumbhara,"
"Babruvahana," and "Shankar Guru," in which he played an
unforgettable triple role, to mention just a few, will be
remembered for a long, long time to come. More so, his magnum
opus, "Bangarada Manushya" - a sensitively structured, family
story, with popular motifs, which ran to packed cinema halls,
in Mysore and Bangalore, for over two years. Years later,
the movie, on a re-run, achieved another distinction: with
an 'innings' of one year, in Bangalore. Rajkumar had always
been a fitness fanatic, the one-man nuclear task-force of
Kannada cinema. No single actor can claim to have contributed
as much as this non-archetypal box-office hero, who in the
course of his 'tenure' may have proved to be the stumbling
block to many a new aspirant. But, it goes without saying
that the greatest have always been guilty of 'promoting'
this inevitable factor of life, whatever one's field of
activity. Rajkumar has seen the best of both the worlds
- from Kannada cinema's pristine, ebullient existence to
the age of neo- realism.
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