Kannada idol Rajkumar is dead, Bangalore shuts down

Bangalore, April 12 (IANS) Kannada film icon Rajkumar died here Wednesday afternoon, and shops, offices and cinema theatres across the city shut down as a mark of respect even as thousands of fans thronged his home to pay their last respects.

Within an hour of the 77-year-old actor's death, his fans went around the city carrying his portraits and banners. Using loudspeakers, they appealed to people to maintain peace and shut down commercial and other establishments.

Thousands of fans thronged Rajkumar's home in the posh Sadashivnagar. Many sobbed inconsolably and screamed slogans like "Annavaru Jai" and "Rajkumar zindabad" (Long live Rajkumar).

His body was later shifted to the sprawling Bangalore Palace grounds to enable people to pay homage in an orderly manner.

The city police were forced to make elaborate arrangements to maintain law and order and hundreds of policemen were rushed to Rajkumar's residence to regulate the crowds.

"Rajkumar's family agreed to shift the body to the palace grounds on our advice as it was increasingly becoming difficult to manage the emotionally charged crowds at his house located in a residential colony with narrow roads and by-lanes," a police official said.

Scores of actors, actresses, producers, directors, exhibitors and leading lights of the Kannada film industry were among those who paid tribute to the thespian.

Among the leaders who were first to arrive at Rajkumar's residence were former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda, Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, his elder brother H.D. Revanna, former chief minister N. Dharam Singh, state Congres president Mallikarjuna Kharge and central Surface Transport Minister K.H. Muniyappa.

Many of them were seen consoling Rajkumar's widow Parvathamma, his sons Shivrajkumar, Puneet Kumar and Raghavendra, their wives and children.

The septuagenarian actor died due to cardiac arrest around 2 p.m. when he was being rushed to the M.S. Ramaiah hospital after he complained of chest pain and breathing trouble. His family members were by his side when he breathed his last.

"We tried to revive him but could not succeed. We did everything to save him," Rajkumar's personal physician Ramana Rao told IANS.

"Rajkumar had been ailing for some time. He was admitted to Wockhard hospital on Feb 27 after he complained of chest pain, breathing, bronchial allergy and lung infection. He recovered and returned home after a week in hospital," Rao recalled.

One of the tallest personalities in Kannada theatre, Rajkumar made his debut in films about five decades ago.

He built up a fan following of millions over the years. In July 2003, Rajkumar was in the limelight after he was abducted by forest brigand Veerappan and held in custody for 108 days.

According to his family members, Rajakumar was under a lot of emotional pressure following the death of his younger brother Varadaraj, who played an instrumental role in his chequered film career.