Kannadda Kannmani Dr. Raj
April 24, 1928 - April 12, 2006
12th April, 2006 3:00 PM, I got a mail, "Annavaru innilla" was the subject and that spoke volume for itself.
I could not believe this news, started searching web for reliable source of the information. Deccan Herald announced "Dr. Raj Kumar Passed away". It was a shock which was not expected.
In next one hour Came the announcement from the CEO, "Employees are advised to leave early..." and 13th April was declared holiday.
The sequence of event resembled something what happened in year 2000, that was when Dr. Raj kumar was kidnapped.
Before this, my memory fails to recall anything like this, it dates back to my school days when the school was let off when our prime minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi was killed.
Shocked with the news of Dr. Raj's death, I reached home witnessing Deserted roads of Bangalore, some burnt vehicles, tyres on fire, broken glasses of shops..., I reached home. switched on the TV, I saw lakhs of people assembling to pay their respect to the departed soul.
Dr. Raj was not a political leader nor a religious leader, he was a actor and he was the best at it. he would fill life into the characters he played, which no other actor could do.
That night I could not help brooding Hundreds of his movies I had seen from my childhood, Hosa Belaku, Kaviratna Kalidaasa, Chalisida Modagalu, Halu Jenu, Bhakta kumbara, Mayura, Babrubahana....If go on, I will have to list all the 200+ movies acted by him.
I looked back at the range of roles he has played, Starting from Bedara Kannapa
Historic roles like Krishna Deva Raya, immadi Pulakesh, RanaDheera Kanthirava....
As a common man in Bangara Manushya, Kasturi nivasa, kamanabillu..
Kaviratna Kalidasa, Kanak dasa....
Till the his last movie Shabdavedi..
Every movie made a big impact on Kanndigas, every character he played came alive on the silver screen. People of Karnataka will continue to watch and cherish these movies, Raj kumar may not be there, but he shall continue to live in every role he has played.
Annavare we will all miss you, We are grateful for what you have done for Kannada and Karnataka.
Nimma Atmakke Shanti Sigali..
Labels: In Memory
posted by Shrikanth Hampiholi at
4:54 AM
7 Comments:
Surely will miss Rajkumar.
For me, his devotion to work, his reported humbleness, his keeping away from politics appealed to me.
Somewhere, I thought, we didn't let the simple actor be......to be himself...we made him a superman....took away all his privacy & personal stuff....and inflicted on him all our prejudices.
He braved it all smiling.
Will surely miss him and the clean movies he offered.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Surely every kannadiga is missing Dr. Raj, If possible read my article about Dr. Raj in my blog..
I think he was an amazing acroe who got into any role without any difficulties,
I am a fan of some of his great songs too ( sung by him), though I was introduced to his songs late, But i got attached immediatly.
lot of his movies I have seen have some message to the society and that has been conveyed in a best possible way.
that was actor change the spelling, get emotional to write about him thus the spell error
i still feel as if Annaavru is with us. most of the tv channels are still airing Dr.Raj's episodes.
kannada film industry got name, fame because of great Raj.
in all his movies he has left morals, good messages to the society. how one can dream of forgetting him.
Dr. Raj shall remain with us forever
Dr Rajkumar's death came as a natural end to a glittering journey.
However it did not fail to put people in the perspective and start thinking about the person that he was...
He was not a political leader nor a fake celebrity..
He was an engima in his own way. An actor beyond excellence.
I have been lucky to be a part of an average Kannadiga's life and culture and have seen the place and impact Dr Rajkumar has had on their life.
This in itself is no less an ordinary feat in our Indian society where religion still reigns supreme.
Dr Rajkumar's films managed to do what religious books could not do..
However it is really sad to know that in life he inspired and his death triggered violence !
Sindhu
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