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More than 67 books are said to have been written about Rajkumar, the actor-star fondly called Rajanna and dubbed Natasarvabhouma, or the emperor of acting. Singanallaru Puttaswamaiah Muthuraj or Rajkumar is the biggest star the Kannada film industry has ever produced. The most recent book on him, a coffee-table tome titled Dr Rajkumar: The Person Behind the Personality, written by his son and actor Puneeth Rajkumar and educationist Prakruthi N. Banwasi, released earlier this month, is a treasure trove for fans.
Brought up in a family of professional stage actors, Rajkumar began his film career when he was 25 with Bedara Kannappa in 1954 (though he did act in a bit part at age 13). His debut was the industry’s 39th film and the first to win a National Award. Rajkumar went on to act in 212 films and sang in several. “It was recorded in 1970 that 38% of all the Kannada films made until then starred Rajkumar," says Banwasi.
He was known to be a man with simple needs, and Puneeth says his father’s obsession was speed. “Appaji loved cars and he was a speed freak. He rode bikes for his films but off screen, cars were his passion. Amma (Parvathamma Rajkumar) told me that the first car we bought was a second-hand black Chevrolet," he writes.
Why did the authors keep Rajkumar’s 2000 kidnapping by forest brigand Veerappan out of the book? "The 108 days that passed without the knowledge where our father was were the worst six months of our lives. We cannot relive it and we don’t want to think about it," says Puneeth. Rajkumar and his son-in-law were kidnapped from his ancestral home in Gajanur, and released three months later. During this time violence and rioting erupted across the state. There were similar scenes after his death in 2006. Kanteerava Studios in Bangalore, where he is buried, drew thousands of fans. Buses were burnt and hundreds of policemen were injured. The book doesn’t touch on it either. “It was a day every Bangalorean will remember, but not fondly," says Banwasi.
The book is priced at 2,250 for the Kannada version and 2,750 for the English version.
pavitra.j@livemint.com
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