Dr. Rajkumar

This page relates to the Kannada actor, Rajkumar; for other uses of the name see Raj Kumar.

Padmabhushan Dr. Rajkumar ‌ ಡಾ. ರಾಜಕುಮಾರ್
File:Rajwhitenblack.jpg Rajkumar
Born	Singanalluru Puttaswamayya Muthuraju
Occupation(s)	Actor, singer
Years active	1954 - 2000
Spouse	Parvathamma Rajkumar

Rajkumar (Template:Lang-kn, also rendered as Raj Kumar or Raja Kumar; born Singanalluru Puttaswamayya Muthuraju, April 24, 1929 - April 12, 2006) was an actor and singer in the Kannada film industry. He acted in more than 200 Kannada movies. He worked primarily in Karnataka.

He was called "Dr. Raj" and "Natasarvabhouma" (meaning "emperor of acting") and was hugely popular in Karnataka. His primary view about his fans was "I don't know whether I will ever see God. But for me all my fans are my Gods.". The people of Karnataka adore him. They call him with love "Annavaru" meaning beloved elder brother. Dr. Raj Kumar entered the film industry at the age of eight years and got his first break as a hero in film "Bedara Kannappa" in 1954. Thereafter, he went on to work in over 220 films and became a household name in the Kannada-speaking world.

Early life

Raj Kumar was born on April 24, 1929 in a Kannada speaking family at Gajanur. The village is located in the Erode district of Tamil Nadu. His mother tongue was Kannada. His father, Singanalluru Puttaswamayya, was a theater artist. His mother's name was Lakshmamma, and his original name was Mutturaju, named after Lord Muthathi Raya.

Career

Film

Main article: Rajkumar filmography

File:Rajkumar RK2284.JPG

A painting of Rajkumar in a streetboard in Bangalore

Rajkumar started his career as a theater artist with his father in a troupe led by the legendary Gubbi Veeranna. It was here that Rajkumar honed his acting and singing skills. Later, along with his father, Rajkumar joined M S Subbayya Naidu Drama Company. The only habit he had was have only one cigarette with his man-friday Umaski right after his afternoon lunch.

Bedara Kannappa, a 1954 Kannada language movie, marked his entry into the film world. This movie was directed by H L N Simha, who christened him "Rajkumar". Rajkumar would use the same name for the rest of his life. He later forayed into film production with the hugely popular Ranadheera Kanteerava, which he produced with another legend of Kannada cinema, Balakrishna. This movie which was made exclusively with technicians from Karnataka also marked the beginning of full-fledged filmmaking in Karnataka. The famous song "Shivappa Kaayo Tande" originated in his first movie.

File:Rajkumar Mgrraj4.JPG

with MGR

With the exception of one Telugu movie called Kalahasti Mahathyam, he acted only in Kannada movies. In his lifetime, Rajkumar acted in 206 Kannada movies, excluding guest appearances. He owned a film production company called Vajreshwari Production, which produced films under the banner of Dakshayani Combines. Bhagyada Bagilu was his 100th movie and Devatha Manushya was his 200th movie. He participated in several protest marches, such as Gokak Chaluvali.

He produced and starred in Kaviratna Kalidasa and Shankar-Guru. He produced movies based on famous Kannada novels. He also made many movies against perceived social evils, such as Shabdavedi, which addressed drug abuse.

Singing

Dr. Rajkumar was also a well-known singer. He sang many devotional songs. He won the National Award for the song "Naadamaya" from the movie Jeevana Chaitra. He had trained in classical music while in Gubbi Veranna's drama troupe. At that time it was required for everyone to at least have a working knowledge of classical music. He had sung a song in the movie Mahishasura Mardini with G.K.Venkatesh as the music director. Rajkumar however, did not become a full-fledged singer until his hugely popular song Yare Koogadali from the movie Sampathige Sawal. Prior to his singing in Sampathige Sawal, Rajkumar's songs were sung by Dr. P B Shrinivas. He used to call PBS 'Shaareera' while he referred to himself as 'Shareera'. Raj had a good voice and all his songs are popular. He excelled in singing all types of songs from romantic to heavily classical. After Yare Koogadali he sang for most of his movies and for many private albums, which were mainly devotional albums. His song renditions would range from pure classical to disco and fast numbers to pathos. Although his singing was greatly appreciated, his fans of the days of black-and-white movies in 1960s and 1970s, swear by the fact that his true identity was P B Srinivas, who did the playback singing for most of Rajkumar's movies, until Rajkumar himself started to sing. P.B.Srinivas continued singing for him in many of the movies in which Rajkumar starred in double/triple roles.

In his final years, Rajkumar had lent his voice to a few other actors and sang many background solos. One such song, which holds a unique distinction, was for the movie Muddina Maava wherein he had provided playback to the legendary singer S.P.Balasubramaniyam, who had acted in the movie. This is probably a rare occasion where an actor sings for a singer, which is probably unmatched in the world of cinema. He had sung many devotional songs on Hanuman and Sri Raghavendra Swamiji. One of his most famous songs is "huttidare kannada nadalli hutta beku".

Rajkumar’s voice had the smoothness & depth comparable to PB Srinivas. His voice was capable of greater vivacity, noticeable in songs like Sigivem Kshanadali, Thai Thai Bangari, Naa Ninna Mareyalare, Le le Appana Magale and Aradhisuve.The theatrical background he had since childhood really helped him in acting as well as singing. Adept at rendering his voice to different moods - romantic, sentimental, devotional and semi-classical, his songs about Kannada language and culture such as Jenina holeyo, Maanavanagi huttidmele and Huttidare are immensely popular. He even sang a complete English song in one of his bond films. Interestingly, he lent voice for SPB in Muddina Mava and comedian Narasimharaju in Devasundari.Naadamaya, a classical song in Raga Thodi, which won him the national award for best playback singing, proves his versatility as a singer with its complex graces as it progresses with other ragas. He switches between ragas with ease and sings Swara patterns just like a professional.

Kalidasa’s shlokas, songs, which are based on ghazals like Sadaa Kannali, Kanneera Dhaare, Gelathi Baradu and Yaava Kaviyu have also been very melodious and popular. Besides films, he rendered his voice for many devotional songs.

Interesting facts about Rajkumar

Source: [4]

• The first actor in the Indian film industry to receive a Doctorate for acting (at Mysore University)

• The only Indian actor to get the "Kentucky Colonel", a prestigious award given by the state of Kentucky, USA (previously received by the British Prime Minister and Russian Prime Minister)

• The only actor to have acted in only one language (Kannada) over a period of 50 years

• The only actor in the Indian film industry in whose name the State Government is giving an Award when he was still alive, every year to a person who has given outstanding contribution to the Film Industry

• The only Kannada actor to have around 5000 fan associations across the world

• The only actor to receive a National Award for both singing and acting

• The first actor whose first film itself won the National Award for Best Movie

• The first Kannada actor to win the Dada Saheb Phalke Award, a prestigious award given by the Indian government for achievement in the film industry

• The only actor to have more than 10 titles given by the Indian government and other associations (Karnataka Rathna, Kannada Kanteerava, Kala Kausthuba, Rasikara Raja, Padmabhushana, Nata Sarvabhouma, Kentuky colonel, Annavaru, Gana Gandharva, Nithya Noothana Nata Shreshta, Doctorate, etc.)

• The only Kannada actor to receive the Padmabhushan award for achievement in the film industry

• The only actor in the Indian film industry to receive 9 State Awards for acting, 10 FilmFare Awards, and 2 State Awards for Singing

• The only actor ever to act in 14 films in a single year twice, once in 1964 and the other in 1968

• The only Kannada actor to act as hero with both a mother and daughter in Kannada movies

• The only Kannada actor to win the NTR Award given by the Andhra government for outstanding contributions to the film industry

• He is the hero of the longest running Kannada movie ever, Bangarada Manushya, which ran for two years in four of the theatres in Bangalore and one year in five centres.

• The success rate of his movies is 95%, higher than any other actor (except M.G.R) in the Indian film industry.

Personal life

Family

Rajkumar married Parvathamma with whom he had 5 children, of whom Shivrajkumar, Raghavendra Rajkumar and Puneet Rajkumar are successful actors. He had a brother named Varadaraj. Parvathamma and Varada Raj have contributed significantly to Rajkumar's success. Rajkumar's finances were handled by his wife, and his brother finalised the scripts of movies in which Rajkumar worked. Parvatamma was like a CFO and Varadaraj was like a creative head for all the Rajkumar's projects. Parvathamma ventured into production, distribution and even exhibition casting only Rajkumar or his sons in her movies. Almost every movie produced by her has been a success.

Kannada language movement

Main article: Gokak agitation

Rajkumar was asked to lead a movement about making Kannada a compulsory language for primary education based on the "Gokak report", popularly known as "Gokak varadhi". He became actively involved in the movement and soon became the force behind the Gokak movement. He took a rally from Belgaum to Bangalore and gave speeches about the importance of Kannada.Thousands of people gathered only to have a glimpse of Rajkumar and listen to his speech.The movement became such a rage that the government relented and made Kannada a compulsory language of education in Karnataka.

Kidnapping

On July 30, 2000, at the age of 71, Rajkumar, his son-in-law Govindaraju and two others were kidnapped from the actor's palatial house at Gajanur in Tamil Nadu by the bandit and terrorist Veerappan. Veerappan was demanding the release of his gang members who were being held in jail under a defunct anti-terrorism law. The event prompted a massive manhunt and threw the Karnataka government into crisis. Rajkumar was released unharmed on November 15, 2000, after 108 days of captivity. His kidnapping and the manner in which his release were secured are a mystery to this day.

Death and aftermath

Rajkumar died at his home in Sadashivanagar, Bangalore, on April 12, 2006 following a cardiac arrest.

His death precipitated a state-wide reaction. Following the news of his death, there was major unrest in the city of Bangalore. The then Chief Minister, H. D. Kumaraswamy, later claimed that the violence was instigated by vested political interests. However the opposition blamed it on lack of timely arrangements by responsible organizations. An unofficial bandh (closure of all shops and other establishments) was announced. More than 100 vehicles were burnt and eight people were killed in police firing.

Some of the unrest was caught on film during the "Outsourcing" episode of the Morgan Spurlock show 30 Days.

The Karnataka government announced to make a Rs 10 crore memorial in the memory of Rajkumar at Kanteerava Studios.

Awards and honours

Rajkumar has been awarded numerous state, national and international awards. He is a recipient of the Padma Bhushan award, a doctorate from Mysore University, and the Karnataka Ratna, the highest civilian honour of the State of Karnataka, recognising him as a "jewel of Kannada films". In 1995 he further received the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award for his outstanding contribution to the Kannada film industry.

• Honorary doctorate from Mysore University in 1976
• The Nadoja Award (a honorary doctorate) from Hampi University
• Ten Filmfare Awards South awards in the Best Actor category
• Nine Karnataka State Film Awards in the Best Actor category
• National Film Award in the Best Male Playback Singer category in the year 1993 for the song "Naadamaya ee Lokavella" from the movie Jeevana Chaitra
• Nine Karnataka State Film Awards in the Best Playback Singer category
• Padma Bhushan award in 1983
• Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1995
• Karnataka Ratna in 1993
• Etv Kannadiga award in 2000
• NTR National Award for the year 2002

Book on Rajkumar

A book named Bangarada Manushya ("Golden Man"), written by A. N. Prahlada Rao, chronicles Rajkumar achievements on and off the screen. This book is rich in details on the growth and evolution of the Kannada film industry. It has been translated to English as Dr. Rajkumar: The Inimitable Actor with Golden Voice.

References

• http://specials.rediff.com/movies/rajkumar.htm
• http://www.rediff.com/movies/2006/apr/17songs.htm

External links

• Rajkumar at IMDb