Tracing Dr Rajkumar's forte into filmdom

Bangalore: Dada Saheb Phalke awardee Dr Rajkumar's is a typical rags-to-riches story one gets to see in some of his films.

Muthuraj, rechristened Rajkumar for movies, was a village boy. He rose to fame after setting his foot gingerly on the land of Kannada films. His reluctance to act in films in the beginning were well known. But for the efforts of his brother Varadaraju, Kannada filmdom might have missed out on a great actor. It is said that Varadaraju's recent death had created a vacuum in Rajkumar's life.

Having studied up to the third standard, Rajkumar joined his father Singanallur Puttaswamayya and brother Varadappa's (Varadanna as he is called) in performing for a drama troupe. Later, he joined the famous Sahitya Samrajya Nataka Mandali of Subbaih Naidu to eke out a living. He soon made his mark with brilliant portrayals of a varied range of characters.

Born on April 24, 1929, Rajkumar hailed from Gajanur in the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border area. Known as the pillar of strength of the Kannada film industry, Rajkumar set the record of bagging the Best Actor Filmfare Award for regional cinema 10 times. Among other awards were Karnataka government's Karnataka Ratna (equivalent to Bharat Ratna at the national level), and nine Best Kannada Actor awards.

A pro-Kannada activist, Rajkumar never acted in other language films, in spite of his proficiency in Tamil. His immense contributions to the Kannada primacy movement through the Gokak agitation during the middle of 1981-82 were hailed by the people of Karnataka. He led a movement to collect funds for drought relief in 1961, when the country was facing famine.

Having started his career with Bedara Kannappa in 1954, Rajkumar's last movie was Shabdavedi (2004), in which he acted as a police officer and awed all with his agility.

Acting came to him naturally. Rajkumar seemed just cut out for the mythological characters he used to portray in the drama troupe. His first movie Bedara Kannappa, based on the life of a hunter turning into a hard-core devotee, was a grand success. Known for his down-to-earth demeanour, Rajkumar never had the air of a superstar.

The veteran actor was held captive by notorious forest brigand Veerappan on July 30, 2000 for nearly 108 days. This took a toll on his health.

Rajkumar was a yoga expert, often conducting lectures on the benefits of yoga. He often sang his songs in films, and even lent his voice for his sons' films.

Rajkumar cut some albums of devotional songs on Saint Raghavendra, whom he believed in as God. He portrayed the God's life in a film playing the saint himself.

He was honoured with several titles for his contributions to the Kannada cinema and Kannada language. The greatest honour came to him from the Mysore University, which conferred upon him the honorary doctorate.

Rajkumar's uniqueness lies in the fact that he entered the Kannada film industry at its infancy when the films were largely being made in Madras and greatly contributed in later years bath as an actor and producer, to move the industry to Karnataka and encouraged hundreds of actors and technicians to find their roots here and grow.

Over the years, Rajkumar did not remain only a film personality as his aura spread to the social, cultural and literary worlds. He acted in a phenomenal range of films which appealed to the masses as well as the literate.

Though he had little education, his immaculate presentation of characters, controlled acting, almost impeccable pronunciation of Kannada dialogues, made him a living legend among all Kannadigas, bath the hai palai and the literary community.

But, he was absolutely unfazed by all the adulation he received and remained a humble, gentle human being.

Rajkumar's participation the Gokak agitation far primacy to Kannada in 1980s was a significant landmark in the sense that he filled the hearts of all Kannadigas with a sense of pride in their language and culture.

He was at the zenith of his popularity then and like same as his contemporaries in neighboring states, he could have easily entered the political field, if he wished to. There were also same tempting offers, but he steadfastly refused to take the bait, saying he was .only a 'performer' and would remain so.

It was almost an act .of 'renunciation' considering the pressure he was under to enter politics. That was a measure of greatness and dignity of a man, who will remain etched in our memories for long.

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