Google has honored Kannada actor Rajkumar with a doodle on his 88th birth anniversary.
Widely acknowledged as one of India’s finest actors, Rajkumar was born on April 24, 1929. His real name was Singanalluru Puttaswamayya Muthuraju. He started his career in films in 1954 with movie Bedara Kannapa, and performed in 200 films. Before beginning his acting career, Rajkumar was a dramatist with Gubbi Drama Company. His last movie was Shabdavedhi that was released in the year 2000. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1983. In his movies, Rajkumar’s role varied from love, mythological characters, action to roles connected with social issues. He also played the role of James Bond in the film Jedara Bale.
For his fans, Rajkumar was an icon. The actor was always praised for his acting skills and his simple lifestyle. He avoided drinking alcohol as well as smoking, and nobody ever heard him using foul language for anybody in his professional life.
In the year 2000, Rajkumar was kidnapped by forest brigand Veerappan. The kidnapping occurred on July 30 and after spending 108 days in his custody, the actor was released by Veerappan on November 15, 2000. The kidnapping deteriorated relations between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and created a highly tense situation.
According to Rajkumar’s son, Raghavendra Rajkumar, the STF in the stated had already warned Rajkumar that Veerappan is planning to abduct him. But the actor ignored the warning saying Veerappan would get nothing more than a shirt and a dhoti with this kidnapping.
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