Rajkumar Song
Renita Lukins
He is the only Indian actor to be awarded the Kentucky Colonel, the highest honour bestowed by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in the United States.[24][25] Well known for his highly disciplined and simple lifestyle in both personal and professional fronts, Rajkumar was also an avid Yoga, Pranayama, and Carnatic music performer. In 2000, he was kidnapped from his farmhouse at Gajanur by Veerappan and was released after 108 days.[26] He died of cardiac arrest at his residence in Bangalore on 12 April 2006 at the age of 76.[27] His eyes were donated as per his last wish.[28]
Singanalluru Puttaswamaiah Muthuraj was born in a Kannada-speaking family[40][41][42] on 24 April 1929 in Dodda Gajanur,[43] a hamlet in the Talavady taluk. His father Puttaswamayya and mother Lakshmamma were impoverished theatre artists from Singanalluru.[44] His mother tongue was Kannada.[42][45] Puttaswamayya was good at playing mythological roles such as Kamsa, Ravana, and Hiranyakashipu. Muthuraj left school at eight and was later discovered by film producers, who cast him in small roles that he played till he was 25.[44]
Muthuraj started his acting career with his father in a drama troupe led by Gubbi Veeranna[47][48] and later joined the drama company of Subbaiah Naidu.[49] In 1953, he was spotted by film director H. L. N. Simha, who was on the lookout for well-built, pleasant-faced man for the starring role in film, Bedara Kannappa.[11] Simha eventually signed Muthuraj for the film and named him Rajkumar.[47]
Prior to Bedara Kannappa, Rajkumar had appeared as a child artist in the 1942 film Bhakta Prahlada in a small role and also in the 1952 film, Sri Srinivasa Kalyana, as Sage Agasthya, one of the Saptarishis (seven sages).[50] It was an insignificant role in which his scene was over even before he recognised himself.[51]
He had lead roles in 205 movies.[53] He owned a production company called Sri Vajreshwari Combines under the banner Dakshayani Combines. Bhagyada Bagilu was his 100th film,[54] Devatha Manushya was his 200th film and Shabdavedhi was his last film.[55]
His character depictions ranged from mythological, historical, devotional, James Bond styled spies to romantic, rural, action roles and portrayals of contemporary social causes in the span of over five decades.[44] Rajkumar along with his contemporaries Udaya Kumar and Kalyan Kumar were referred as the Kumara Thrayaru of Kannada cinema. He acted in 36 films with Udaya Kumar and in 5 films with Kalyan Kumar.[56]
His historical movies such as Ranadheera Kanteerava, Immadi Pulikeshi, Sri Krishnadevaraya and Mayura presented a populist version of Karnataka's history, focusing on the Karnataka kingdoms such as Mysore royalty, The Chalukyas, The Vijayanagara Empire and The Kadambas respectively[57] - thereby making him the only Indian actor to have portrayed the role of four prominent kings of Indian history - Kanthirava Narasaraja I, Pulakeshin II, Krishnadevaraya and Mayurasharma. He also appeared as Bijjala II in Jagajyothi Basveshwara and as Raja Mallasarja in Kittur Chennamma.
He has acted in around 50 movies based on novels, plays and short stories,[66] which is the highest for any actor in India. He made movies from Kannada novels and made movies against perceived social evils in movies like Jeevana Chaitra (on evils of alcohol) and Shabdavedhi (on drug abuse).[67]
When Rajkumar appeared as CID 999 in Jedara Bale, he became the first Indian actor to enact a spy role modelled on James Bond in a full-fledged manner [70] and was called the James Bond of India.[71] The success of this movie led to three sequels: Goa Dalli CID 999, Operation Jackpot Nalli C.I.D 999 and Operation Diamond Racket.[72][73][74] The CID 999 Franchise was the first Indian movie franchise to have four instalments and CID 999 was the first character based trilogy in India.[75][71][76]
His movie Operation Diamond Racket was shot in Nepal and became the first Kannada movie to be shot outside India. His movie Ondu Muttina Kathe was reported to be the first ever Indian film to have an underwater action sequence shot in an ocean[85] outside India[86] without the help of oxygen mask.[87]
Rajkumar's 1971 movie Kasturi Nivasa was colorised and released in 2014. Even close to a decade after his death, the movie garnered a grand opening with the actor's life-size cutout being immersed in milk. The colorised release also performed well at the box office over taking other Kannada movies released at the time.[88] His 39 movies have been remade 63 times in 9 languages by 34 actors.[89]
Rajkumar trained in classical music when he was with Gubbi Veeranna's theatre troupe.[90] The track "Om Namaha Shivaya" from the 1956 film Ohileshwara, which he also starred in, was his first song for a film. He subsequently sang "Thumbithu Manava", a duet with S. Janaki, for the movie Mahishasura Mardini (1959). However, he became a full-fledged singer only in 1974 when he sang in place of P. B. Sreenivas for Sampathige Savaal,[91] who had till then sung for most songs picturised on Rajkumar, fell ill. Rajkumar sang the energetic "Yaare Koogadali" for the film which became widely popular during the time and is considered one of his best songs.[92]
Rajkumar's duets are mostly recorded with S. Janaki and Vani Jairam. Other female singers who sang with him are P. Susheela, Bangalore Latha, H. P. Geetha, K. S. Chitra, Swarnalatha, Manjula Gururaj, B. R. Chaya, Kasturi Shankar, Rathnamala Prakash, Sulochana and others.
During his career, Rajkumar sang and performed for songs about Kannadigas, the Kannada language and culture, such as "Jenina Holeyo" from Chalisuva Modagalu, "Maanavanagi Huttidmele" from Jeevana Chaitra and "Huttidare Kannada" from the film Aakasmika. He sang a complete English song called "If You Come Today" ("Tick Tick Tick") in the movie Operation Diamond Racket in 1978. This song became an internet meme in India following Rajkumar's demise in 2006.[76]
In later years, he lent his voice to a few actors and sang background solos. For the song Deepavali Deepavali [95] from Muddina Maava, he provided playback to S. P. Balasubrahmanyam.[96] This was a rare occasion. "Hrudaya Samudra Kalaki" from Ashwamedha and "Hey Dinakara" from Om are the two other popular songs sung by Rajkumar for other actors.[97] He also sang Kalidasa shlokas such as "Maanikya Veena" and ghazal-based songs such as "Sadaa Kannale", "Kanneera Dhaare" and "Yaava Kaviyu".
Rajkumar recorded many devotional songs beginning in the 1970s for Columbia Recording Company starting with "Mantralayakke Hogona" in 1972. His widely popular LP record "Guruvara Bantamma" was also recorded during the time.[98] In 1979, Sangeetha Cassettes became India's first licensed pre-recorded cassettes. Rajkumar sang the devotional songs glorifying the saint Raghavendra and the Hindu deity Hanuman.[98][99]
It was also noted that his versatility and diction contributed immensely to his popularity as a singer since he was able to sing songs of any style - be it qawwali, ghazal, bhajan or English songs - apart from handling a range of emotions - vivacious, romance, devotion or sarcasm.[101]
At the age of 24, Rajkumar married his 14-year-old cousin, Parvathamma, on 25 June 1953 in Nanjangud.[102] This was in accordance with the betrothal that their fathers made following the latter's birth.[103][104] Together, they had five children: sons Shiva, Raghavendra and Puneeth, and daughters Lakshmi and Poornima. Having lived a "hand to mouth existence" after marriage in a joint family that included 24 children in Madras, the family moved to Bangalore in 1972, after Rajkumar began getting multiple film offers.[105]
On 30 July 2000, Rajkumar, his son-in-law Govindaraju and two others were abducted by Veerappan from the actor's palatial house at Gajanur. Veerappan demanded 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. The Supreme Court of India opined that it was "unpardonable" on the part of the government of Tamil Nadu for not providing security to Rajkumar, although they had information a year earlier that he faced a threat of being kidnapped by Veerappan.[106] A Special Task Force (STF) set up to capture Veerapan had earlier warned Rajkumar against visiting the farmhouse, and his son Raghavendra later acknowledged that his father had not taken the threat seriously.[107]
On 12 April 2006, Rajkumar returned to his Sadashivanagar residence after his regular 20-minute walk and had a general medical check-up by 11:30 a.m. (IST). At 1:50 pm (IST), as he sat on a sofa, he asked a member of his family to slow the fan down and immediately collapsed. His personal physician Ramana Rao was called for, who rushed within three minutes, and performed external cardiac massage and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Rajkumar was then taken to MS Ramaiah Memorial Hospital and was administered intracardiac injections. Efforts to revive him failed and he was pronounced dead at 2:05 pm (IST). His death occurred 12 days before his 77th birthday.[110] His eyes were donated to two visually impaired persons the same day.[111]
Rajkumar's death triggered an outpouring of grief. There was major shutdown in the city of Bengaluru. An unofficial bandh (closure of all shops and other establishments) was observed. Several people attempted suicide after hearing the news; most of them were rescued. The funeral cortge the next day started from Sree Kanteerava Stadium to Kanteerava Studios a few minutes before 12:30 pm (IST), a distance of 14 kilometres (8.7 mi).[112] Around two million people followed his remains.[27] However, the entire procession was marked with violence with mourners attacking public property, and police, who resorted to lathi-charge and tear gas.[113] Passing through Krishna Raja Circle, Palace Road, T. Chowdiah Road, Sadashivanagar, Yeswanthpur and Goraguntepalya localities, the cortge reached the Studios at 4:45 pm (IST). His body was buried with State honours at 5:45 p.m (IST) at the premises of the studios. The last rites were performed by his eldest son Shiva, guided by priests from the city's ISKCON and the Gayathri Temples.[112]
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