Thespian Rajkumar would have turned 92 today. He was a colossus. His life can be described as life in three octaves lived simultaneously. Acting in Kannada films was one of them. He was much more than an actor or a superstar. He was a conscience keeper of Karnataka. And he was also the personification of everything good about the great state and its people.
Muthuraj, a primary school dropout who ruled the hearts of Kannadigas for over 50 years as Rajkumar was a living legend. Even 16 years after his death the legend of Rajkumar continues.
Rajkumar was born on April 24th, 1929 under the British rule. His father Singanallur Puttaswamaiah was a well-known drama artist. The Muthuraj was deeply influenced by his father and was grateful to him till his last breath.
The extreme poverty at home forced him to quit school and join a drama company as a child artists. That boy became a hero in 1954 with the release of a Kannada blockbuster, a mythological film “Bedara Kannappa”. The superstar Rajkumar was born. As they say rest is history.
For the outsiders or the current generation, it may be impossible to fathom peoples love for him. He was loved and admired because of his finer qualities as a human being. When in trouble the entire Karnataka would look up to him for his saner voice and advise.
He was one of the humblest human beings. Firmly rooted in the life and culture of rural Karnataka. The phenomenal success always sat lightly on his shoulders. He used to treat the kings and the paupers alike.
Always dressed in white Panche and shirt Rajkumar was a humility personified. He had a childlike curiosity about the fast changing world around him. He had no shame in admitting his lack of formal education and exposure.
This reporter had a firsthand experience of his warmth even during the worst crisis in his life. In the year 2000, Rajkumar was abducted by the dreaded forest brigand Veerappan. He was in his captivity for 108 days in the forest and was finally released after protracted negotiations by the SM Krishna government in Karnataka.
I was a young journalist still wet behind ears and was assigned to cover his release. I travelled from Bengaluru to Erode in Tamil Nadu in the night and managed to locate his temporary guest house at a village called Oonjapalayam near Mettur dam. It was just a night after him being released by Veerappan. He was kept at a small house owned by a local gram panchayat chairman Ramaraj. When I entered that house I saw Rajkumar sitting on a plastic chair with his wife Parvathamma.
He welcomed me with a big smile and was so apologetic about not being able to offer me breakfast or at least a cup of Coffee. His words still ring my ears.
In a choked voice he said in Kannada “Paapa, neevu ratriyella prayana maadi bandiddeera. Naano ninne ratri thanaka kaadalii kaidiyaagidde. Eega illiddeeni. Idu yaarado mane. Naanu avara athithi. Nimage thindi athava kade paksha ondu lota Coffee kodo samarthyavoo nanagilla” (You have travelled all the way from Bengaluru to here in the night. I am sure you are tired. I was a hostage in the forest till, last evening. Now I am here. This house belongs to someone I don’t know. I am his guest. I am not in a position to offer a breakfast or at least a cup of Coffee. That is my Karma”.
And it was Rajkumar. He was above all human pettiness. So self-effacing. No sense of self-importance usually associated with the icons like him.
He shunned publicity and politics all his life. In the early 1980s, he had a huge chance to launch a political outfit like his fellow superstars NTR in Andhra Pradesh and MGR in Tamil Nadu. But, he withstood the tremendous pressure mounted on him and never regretted his decision. “I am loved and respected by millions, cutting across all sections and political parties. Why should I hurt them and ruin my name by joining politics? I am not even an educated man to understand all that”, he used to say.
He kept his word. Died, loved and admired.
Rajkumar continues to live even 14 years after his death. Generations to come will surely marvel at this phenomena called Rajkumar or “Annavru” (meaning elder brother).
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