Dr.
Rajkumar real name: Singanalluru Puttaswamayya
Mutturaju (April 24, 1929—April 12, 2006) is the most
popular actor in Kannada film industry. He was an icon in
Karnataka and was seen as a role model to millions of
Kannadigas.
"Dr. Raj" or
Natasarvabhouma or "Annavru" (big brother) to millions of
his fans, he was sometimes called the John Wayne of South
Indian cinema. He acted in more than 200 movies over 50
years in Kannada. Most of his movies have become great
epic films in Kannada film industry. He was also a
well-known singer, as a playback singer as well as of
devotional songs.
Early life
Rajkumar was
born in Gajanur, a village near the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu
border in Tamil Nadu.. He was born to Puttaswami who was a
famous dramatist. Rajkumar's mother tongue was Tamil. He
was the eldest son of his family. His official name was
S.P. Muthuraja, which was named after Lord Muthathi-rai
(Lord Hanuman). His name was changed to "Rajakumar"
(meaning Prince) when he entered films, by H.L.N. Simha
who directed Rajkumar's first movie Bedara Kannappa.
The title of Doctor in his name came after he was awarded
a honourary doctorate by Mysore University for his
contribution to films in 1976.
Film Career
Rajkumar
started his career as a dramatist with his father in a
troupe led by Gubbi Veeranna. There, he learned all his
acting and singing skills. During his career on stage he
became famous for his role as Arjuna.
Bedara
Kannapa was his first movie in the lead role. He made
the first independent Kannada movie called "Ranadheera
Kantheerava" exclusively with pure Kannada technicians and
cast, and succeeded in a big way. The same event marked
the emergence of the Kannada Cinema industry as an
independent entity separate from other south Indian cinema
industries.
Dr. Rajkumar
was also one of the most versatile actors in Indian
cinema. His character depictions ranged from comedy to
action, from lover to double/triple roles, from
mythological characters to portrayal of modern day social
causes. He acted with the most popular heroines in
southern Indian cinema, such as Kannada's Pandaribai,
Leelavathi, Jayanti, Bharati, Arati, Jayaprada, Madhavi,
Geetha, Sarita and others from neighbouring states. He
acted with many directors of the south Indian cinema from
B.R. Pantulu, Puttanna Kanagal to Shankar Nag and
Nagabharana. He was known for only acting in Kannada
movies, even though he got many offers from different
movie industries in India. Actors who have acted with him
considered it an achievement of their lifetime. Prithviraj
Kapoor acted in the movie Saakshatkara in the role of Dr.
Rajkumar's father.
In his
lifetime, Dr. Rajkumar acted in 206 Kannada movies,
excluding the 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.
Two of his
most famous performances were in his own productions -
Kaviratna Kalidasa and Shankar-Guru. He
produced movies based on famous Kannada novels. He was
ably supported by his friend and script writer Chi.
Udayashankar. He signed films only after consultation with
his brother, S.P.Varadaraju. He chose stories which
usually had a social message for the audience. He also
made many movies against social evils. One such movie is
Shabdavedi which is against the evil of drugs.
He never
smoked a cigar/cigarette or acted as an alcoholic in any
of his movies (excepting a few in the initial days of his
film career). In real life too, he was a non-smoker and
non-alcoholic and maintained a very high standard of
living, performing daily Yogasanas and following a strict
diet. Though he had numerous chances to try his hand at
Indian politics owing to his mass following, he shied away
from active politics focussing his energy towards art and
cinema.
Dr. Rajkumar
still has a large fan following throughout the world.
The last movie
he acted in was Shabdavedi, in which he co-starred
along with the famous actress Jayaprada.
His Family
Rajkumar had a
brother S.P.Varadaraju who worked with him in his
production company. He also had a sister by name
Sharadamma. He was married to Parvathamma, who later
became a film producer. They had 3 sons Shivaraj Kumar,
Raghavendra Rajkumar and Puneet Rajkumar, and 2 daughters
Lakshmi and Poornima. He launched all his three sons as
actors in Kannada films.
Awards and
Honours
Rajkumar
received numerous state, national and international
awards. He received an honorary doctorate from Mysore
University in 1976. He won ten Filmfare awards for the
best actor category which happens to be the second highest
in the history of Indian films. He won 9 state awards in
the best actor category.state awards for films was
constituted by karnataka government in 1967 when
rajkumar's half the career was over .But still he managed
to win 9 awards which happens to be the highest in the
kannada film industry. He also won a National award in
best singer category. He received the Padma Bhushan award
from the Government of India in 1983 and the Dadasaheb
Phalke Award in 1995, in recognition of his contributions
to the Kannada film industry.
He was
rewarded Karnataka Ratna in the year 1993 by the
Government of Karnataka. In the year 1985, Dr. Rajkumar
had also won the prestigious Kentucky Colonel award
presented in Bangalore by the then Governor of Kentucky
state, USA. His fans have conferred him the title "Nata
Saarvabhowma" (The Emperor of Acting).
