Google Doodle honours Dr Rajkumar on 88th birthday

Dr Rajkumar's life off-screen life was also filled with drama. He was abducted by Veerappan in 2000 from his farm house in Gajanur.

On his 88th birthday, team Google honoured Dr Rajkumar with a painted doodle. Born on April 24, 1929, as as Singanalluru Puttaswamayya Muthuraju, he was fondly called Nata Saarvabhouma, Bangarada Manushya, Vara Nata, Annavaru and Rajanna.

Dr Rajkumar passed away on April 12, 2006, at the age of 77. A three-time national award winner, he worked in some of the greatest movies of all times. He was also a great singer who recorded over 400 songs. Awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1983, Rajkumar was a recipient of numerous prestigious awards such as three National Awards.

Among the many films that he has acted in, one of the most popular roles essayed by him was in Jedara Bale. The success of this film spawned three sequels- Goa Dalli CID 999, Operation Jackpot Nalli C.I.D 999 and Operation Diamond Racket.

Dr Rajkumar's life off-screen life was also filled with drama. He was abducted by Veerappan in 2000 from his farm house in Gajanur. He was released after 108 days of captivity. The incident brought the state of Karnataka to a standstill.

Google's Doodle team says that there were several drafts of the sketch before they finalised on this one. Early drafts of today's Doodle featured different interpretations of Dr Rajkumar's work. After much deliberation, this Doodle was finalised upon.

OneIndia News