“Rajkumar galloped like an unstoppable ashwa on the firmament of filmdom … Many characters took a ride, ranging from saints like Kanakadasa and Tukaram to maha asura s like Hiranyakashipu and Ravana. James Bond too rode this ashwa …”
Tamil superstar Rajinikanth was in his element as he spoke on the illustrious career of Rajkumar after the inauguration of his memorial on the sprawling Kanteerava Studios premises here on Saturday. Speaking in chaste Kannada to the delight of thousands of Rajkumar fans, he encapsulated in his short speech both the milestones of the career of the Kannada film icon and his personal association with him.
No match The gallop had begun with the 1954 release Bedara Kannappa and gone on till is death in 2006, conquering people’s hearts all over Karnataka. “No other ashwa , including Rajinikanth, could ever match its pace,” said the Tamil star.
He recalled an anecdote when both stars had gone for a walk on the Tata Institute campus long ago. When Rajinikanth pointed out that people of all ages had flocked to do namaskara to him, Rajkumar had said, “Always remember that namaskara is not for us, but for Saraswathi in us.”
It was this humility of Rajkumar that Telugu star-turned-politician Chiranjeevi also remembered. “He was the very definition of simplicity and humility,” he said, recounting his experience of meeting Rajkumar during a shooting when he was a student. “He got up and shook hands with each of us.”
Last days Raghavendra Rajkumar, son of the thespian, warmly recalled the last two months of his life, which he spent exclusively with the family. “The day he died, he had woken up early and done yoga as usual. He was singing, joking with my mother, and watching Nyayave Devaru for a while,” he said. His father’s only regret was that he could not make a last trip to Mantralaya, his favourite pilgrimage centre.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said Rajkumar always warmed up to him as “ namma kaadinavaru ” (of our own forest) referring to the fact that both came from the undivided Mysore district, before Chamarajanagar became a separate district. Rajkumar, he said, was a person who transcended his film personality and became a “cultural icon” of Karnataka.
