Tribute to an actor par excellence: Dr Rajkumar (1928 - 2006)

Yesterday, on April 12th, Karnataka lost its most precious jewel. Dr Rajkumar passed away after a massive cardiac arrest at about 2.30 in the afternoon, leaving behind an orphaned Karnataka. The "Annavru" of entire Karnataka had left behind a surprised and aghast "Abhimani Devarugalu".

Dr Rajkumar had been ailing for sometime now. He was repeatedly taken to hospital for treatment in the recent days. He was devastated after his younger brother Varadaraju's death. On the black wednesday, his heart could not bear it any longer and gave away marking an end to a golden era not only in the Kannada film industry but also in the national entertainment industry.

Dr Rajkumar was an actor par excellence. He knew nothing else apart from acting. His schooling ended at class 3 (Which he would later recall while receiving an honarary doctorate from Mysore University, stating that he knows too little to be a doctor), when he took interest in theatre. He was known as Muthuraj in those days. He had the full support from his father, an established theatre actor himself. After a long stint at drama where his acting skills were applauded, he made his silver screen debut in 1954 with Bedara Kannappa. Renamed Rajkumar, he never looked back. He delivered hit after hit which made him the uncrowned king of the Kannada film industry.

Dr Raj acted in 205 movies in all. Most of them are super hits. He etched and excelled in all kinds of roles. Be it mythological characters like Arjuna, Mahishasura or historical characters like Mayura, Pulakeshi, Krishnadevaraya or social characters in movies like Bangarada Manushya Kasturi Nivasa, Jeevana Chaitra or devotional characters like Bhakta Kumbara, Kaviratna Kalidaasa-- Rajkumar handled it all with elan.

Apart from his acting prowess, what endeared Dr Raj to millions of people was his lifestyle. An extremely simple man, he was humility personified. Some of his closest associates wonder how Rajkumar remained so humble even after reaching such great height. They remember with reverence how Dr Raj got up each time to receive someone who came to see him, whether he was a young boy or a old man. We could rather say he reached that height only because he remained humble. Even in his last movie Shabdavedhi, Dr Raj never arrived late on the sets even a single day!! How much more disciplined can a man get?

His principles reflected in his movies. If we decide to follow perfectionism (A philosophy where man's every action is compared to an ideal action in that particular situation to decide whether its good or bad), we need not look further. Dr Raj's movies serve as the perfect ideals. The best example I can think of is Bangarada Manushya. Can one ever forget the hero Rajeevappa, who is humanity personified?? No wonder the movie is the longest running Kannada movie till date. Other examples are Devata Manushya, Kastoori Nivasa, Sakshaatkaara, Haalu Jenu, Jeevana Chaitra, Akasmika... Not to forget, the thespian had an amazing comic sense. In every movie, Dr Raj had a message for the viewers. The icing on the cake was that Dr Raj was also a great singer. He sang some of the all time great Kannada songs.

Dr Raj's love for Kannada was apparent when chose not to act in any other language. Infact in his 5 decade long career, not once did he act in a non-Kannada film, despite getting umteen number of offers to do so. The Gokak movement in the 70's got the sharpness of a sword the moment he jumped into it. Throughout his life, Dr Raj has been at the forefront of any movement for the upliftment of Kannada and Karnataka. Dr Raj single handedly brought respectabilty to the Kannada film industry. His constant encouragement has helped innumerable actors find feet in the industry. Scores of actors attribute thier success to the great man. The greatness was once again displayed when Dr Raj firmly refused many offers to join politics. All political parties tried a lot to rope him in. But Dr Raj said that his life was totally dedicated to art. Moreover, he believed that he didnt belong to any one party. He belonged to entire Karnataka.

This one action speaks volumes about the man. In an era where all his contemporaries like MGR and NTR were using thier filmy popularity in politics, Dr Raj refused to do so. If he had intended, he could have ruled the political scene in Karnataka for any number of years. Some people I know complain that Dr Raj didnt do enough for upliftment of the society. Not that he didnt. Dr Raj has done a lot. But maybe not to the extent of other stars like NTR or Rajnikant. This is simply because these other stars nurtured a political ambition which Dr Raj didnt possess. Thus, equating these people with Dr Raj would definitely be unfair. His movies, however, remain his most important contribution to people. The messages in them, if absorbed, can create a model society.

Many awards were bestowed on the thespian. It must however be said that Dr Raj, never the one to go behind awards, was recognised very late in his career. He was awarded the Karnataka Ratna, Gubbi Veeranna Prashasti, Padma Bushan. When the Karnataka government instituted the Karnataka Ratna award, it wanted to award it first to Rajkumar. However, the ever humble Dr Raj said-- "Give it first to Kuvempu"! The icing on the cake was the Dada Saheb Palke award and the Kentuky Kernel award. He was awarded the state's best actor award a record 9 times. It was ironical that he won his only national award for singing! He was awarded the best singer for his "Nadamaya..." in Jeevana Chaitra. He is the only actor in the country (maybe even in the world) to win the best singer award. Inspite of the government recognising him very late, the public gave him scores of awards and titles. "NataSarvabhouma", "NataShekara", "Rasikara Raja", "VaraNata" are just to name a few.

As someone aptly put it, yesterday, every Kannada household lost its big brother. My family is no different. Everyone in our house is an ardent Dr Raj fan. Yesterday when I got the news in office, I went numb for a minute. Then I thought it may be a rumour and called home. My mother's tone confirmed that the news was true. She was crying. That was the case with every woman in my household. Dr Raj's death was a great loss. In recent times for our family, Dr Raj's latest movies were like parties where all the 20 of us watched it together. The examples are Akasmika and Jeevana Chaitra. The fact that Dr Raj was my grandfather's favorite actor, both my father's and my "Annavru" proves that he enjoys an enviable popularity among all three generations.

Though Dr Raj is physically not present anymore with us, his legacy will live on till Kannada and Karnataka exists. The masterpieces he has left behind, interms of his movies and songs, will continue to inspire both the common man and film fraternity alike. Even in death, Dr Raj showed that he was a great human being. He donated his eyes which will now bring light to two blind people.

One of his songs is going round in my mind repeatedly... So, I will quote it here. It goes this way-- "Aadisuvatha besara moodi aata mugisidha; Sootrava harida bombeya muridha mannagisidha..." This song is from one of the greatest Dr Raj movies-- Kastoori Nivasa. It translates to something like this-- "The almighty got bored and has ended the game; He has torn apart the binding strength, broken the toy and has floored it..."

May the great soul rest in peace. Please join me in this prayer.