Muralidhara Khajane scans the innumerable books written on the iconic actor Rajkumar, and finds that every book remains incomplete, simply because the man was multi-dimensional

Even after ten years of his ‘physical departure’ from this mortal world, there’s no remote possibility of anyone filling the vacuum created by Dr. Rajkumar, the cultural icon of Kannada land, language and culture. To this day, he occupies a position most unique in the culture-scape of the land. Rajkumar is an institution, a status that few film stars boast of in India. He is still “Annavru” for the true-blue Kannadiga. Rajkumar’s stardom doesn’t merely come from the fact that he was an actor exemplar, but because he was an ideal, a role model for the Kannadiga. In the absence of a dedicated political movement for the cause of Kannada and local culture, he came to symbolise the hope and angst of a large section of Kannada-speaking people. He was a singer par-excellence. There was no character which he had not portrayed with distinction. It is hard to find an actor in Kannada, who has not acknowledged him as his idol.

It is not possible to capture the persona of this legendary actor in one visual or literary piece. Those writers, who have tried their hand at capturing the ‘spirit’ of Dr. Rajkumar in the last five decades still feel that they have touched only the peripheral aspects of his personality.

According to film historians, as many as 71 books have been published on Rajkumar so far, besides nine souvenirs. Rajakumara – a small book written by Kannada activist Kodihosalli Ramanna in 1964 is said to be the first work on the actor. Bhagyada Bagilu — a work by V. Nagaraju was published when the film with the same title (Rajukmar’s 100th film) was released; it is an important work. Padmabhushana brought out by Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce, which has complete details of all the 170 films of Rajkumar is another such work. Kathanayakana Kathe by filmmaker Dattu serialised in a Kannada film magazine, enjoys the credit of chronicling the life of Rajkumar for the first time. Besides, Jananayaka by Baraguru Ramachandrappa and Rajamuttu by journalist and script writer Satyamurthy Ananduru are other important works on the actor.

Dr. Rajkumar Samagra Charitre by film writer Doddahulluru Rukkoji, a 2148 page, two volume work with 8,700 exclusive photographs, published recently is being considered as the latest and complete work on the iconic actor. Works on the actor, published till date, pales before this work, be it in size, content, quality of publishing or in terms of the depth of the author’s analysis. The weight of these two volumes is a humungous 10 kilos and they were ferried to Bengaluru all the way from the press in Sivakasi for the launch!

This voluminous work won the Swarna Kamal at the 63rd National Awards recently and the citation described the work as an “encyclopaedic study into the life and career of one of India’s greatest screen legends, Dr. Rajkumar. The 15-year research behind the writing of this twin volume makes it a valuable resource for scholars, students and cinephiles of the present and future. ”

Rukkoji described the award as: “another award for Dada Saheb Phalke recipient actor Rajkumar at the national level. It is posthumous award to the great art soul.”

While the first volume chronicles early life, times and family details of Rajkumar, the second volume delves in to 206 films in which the actor acted. Rukkoji started writing about Rajkumar when he was working for Kajaana a film weekly. The writer travelled to various places to source material and pictures. Over 140 persons including directors, producers, artistes, technicians and family members of the thespian were interviewed and over 20,000 exclusive pictures were collected. It cost Mr. Rukkoji nearly a crore for printing and publishing the book.

Dr. Rajkumar: The Person Behind the Personality by thespian’s son and popular actor Puneeth Rajkumar is another picturesque volume on the actor. This coffee table book is a record of the legendary actor’s life and career, packed with no less than 1,750 photographs, many of them never published before. According to Puneet, who teamed up with Prakruthi N. Banavasi to bring out this bilingual volume, it is an attempt to preserve the soul of the legendary actor for posterity. This work is replete with anecdotes and incidents that shaped Rajkumar’s persona and tracks his early life, childhood, adolescence, early career in company drama, cinema, his stint as a singer as well as defining moments in his personal life and the Kannada film industry itself. Puneet tried to understand his iconic father through the eyes of his mother, brothers, family and friends. According to him, it is not a documentation of Dr. Rajkumar’s life, but simply unveils the persona of the great artiste through the words of those who knew him from close quarters.

Rajkumar Ondu Belaku and Rajkumar: A journey with the Legend – another bilingual work on the thespian by filmmaker and writer Praveen Nayak. This work with 47 small chapters delineates every aspect of Rajkumar’s life with a personal touch. This film maker, who was associated with the actor for more than 30 years, etched a picture of the actor with vivid details. Praveen Nayak says that his interaction with Rajkumar over a period of time had made him realise that at his core, he always remained Mutturaj — a name and personality he was born with. “He never lost his Mutturaj-ness,” he says.

Praveen Nayak, a still photographer, has a huge collection of Rajkumar’s photographs; he followed the actor like Nemai Ghosh followed Satyajit Ray. He selected best of his works and sourced rare pictures from others to make the volume picturesque besides being poetic.

Kannadada Muttina Kathe: Rajkumar by cine-writer and journalist B. Ganapathi is another important work on the actor. The author put together all his articles and interviews with Rajkumar for over two decades. There is a long chapter on the days the actor spent in forest, when the brigand Veerappan abducted him. A chapter on fifty years of his professional life is an important chapter. Here, which is a powerful instance of his humility, the actor says that the film industry gave him all the necessities of a good life, and what he gave in return was meagre. The most interesting chapter in the book is of his childhood years.

Bangarada Manushya by writer and a bureaucrat Aa. Na. Prahlada Rao is another important work on Rajkumar. It closely examines the achievements of the actor both on and off the screen. The writer delves into genres of films Rajkumar acted — mythology, social dramas, etc. besides exploring his role of a singing star. This too has rare photographs of his films and other achievements. Bangarada Manushya can also be considered as a referral volume, because of its rich details on the growth and evolution of Kannada film industry. This was published first in 2005, when Rajkumar was alive and has run into four editions so far.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Friday Review / by Muralidhara Khajane / Bengaluru – April 21st, 2016