He lived a life to marvel his illustrious career that covered five decades and more than two hundred movies. He had a great voice and has sung many film and devotional songs. In 1983 he took to streets to save the Kannada language, and in year 2000 he survived a kidnapping incident by the fearsome bandit Veerappan. A soft-spoken man, he made deliberate attempts to stay away from Indian politics.
He was a rare gentleman in the ugly industry of Indian movies.
From our archives:
Ammavru and Annavru
Amma Intervieing Raj Kumar, circa 1985
In the true Indian tradition of making violence in the aftermath of a death, riots have broken out in different parts of Bangalore (via a private instant message).
Links:
• Wikipedia Entry
• BBC: Rajkumar No More
