Doyen of Kannada filmdom Rajkumar no more

Bangalore, Apr 12 (UNI) Dada Saheb Phalke awardee and Kannada matinee idol Rajkumar died of a heart attack on the way to a private hospital here today.

He was 77. He is survived by wife Parvathamma, a film producer, three sons -- Shivraj, Raghavendra and Puneet -- all actors, besides a daughter.

Rajkumar was rushed to the M S Ramaiah Hospital after he complained of breathing problem. However, he breathed his last at around 1330 hrs enroute to the hospital.

A pall of gloom descended on the entire State, demonstrating his appeal over the masses. The grief was evident in the faces of people from all walks of life, be it actors, other representatives of the tinsel town, politicians or commoners.

As the news of Rajkumar's death spread, thousands of wailing fans thronged his Sadashivnagar residence to get a last glimpse of their idol. The body, which was shifted to his residence, was likely to be placed at the Palace Grounds here to enable his fans to pay their last homage.

Among the early callers were former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda. Police had a tough time controlling the crowd as tension prevailed in the area.

Senior BJP leader L K Advani, whose yatra was to enter Karnataka this evening, extended his stay in Sholapur in neighbouring Maharashtra on hearing the news of Rajkumar's death. Senior party leaders would take a decision on the Karnataka leg of the yatra after assessing the situation.

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