Posted on 04/12/2006 1:39:57 PM PDT by dead
BANGALORE, India - Raj Kumar, a onetime child actor who became one of south India's most beloved movie stars and later was kidnapped by a notorious bandit, died Wednesday at age 77.
He died in a Bangalore hospital of cardiac arrest, Dr. Ramana Rao told the Press Trust of India news agency.
Kumar, whose name was also spelled Rajkumar, appeared in more than 200 Kannada-language films in five decades, with millions of fiercely devoted fans. While he largely gave up acting in the mid-1990s, he remained one of the region's best-loved figures.
Leading South Indian movie star Rajkumar, seen here in the 1970s', died causing
thousands of his fans to take to the streets of Bangalore and bringing parts of the
high-tech city to a standstill.(AFP/File)
Hundreds of distraught fans rioted in Bangalore when police prevented them from forcing their way into the late actor's home, New Delhi Television reported.
Police used bamboo canes to drive away angry fans who shattered the windows of several buses and set a half-dozen cars and motorcycles on fire.
The actor's body was later moved to a large public park in the heart of the city to allow fans to pay their last respects. The regional government in southern India has decided to give Kumar a state funeral, according to Press Trust of India.
Kumar appeared in action films, mythological sagas and romance movies in which he was the star attraction.
Although he played rugged, masculine heroes who triumphed over scheming villains in many of his movies, he also was known for never having smoked cigarettes on screen, or never playing a drunkard after his early days.
He was in the news again in 2000 when he was kidnapped by Veerappan, a famed bandit who had spent decades eluding police in the forests of south India. Kumar was freed by Veerappan after 109 days living in the forests with his gang. Local reports said a large ransom was paid, although Kumar denied that.
Kumar's first glimpse into the world of acting was as a child, when he accompanied his father, an actor who performed in plays in small Indian villages.
Kumar soon dropped out of school to act on the stage and later in the movies.
He won more than 20 national and state awards for his contribution to Indian cinema. His fans called him "Annavaru" meaning "respected elder brother" in the Kannada language.
Movie reviews often told of audiences in cinema halls booing villains who tried to pick fights with him on the big screen. Fans were known to worship his image and pray that his films would be successful at the box office.
He also was a singer whose range extended from dance numbers to classical and devotional songs.
After his retirement, Kumar continued to work behind the scenes as a producer.
Kumar's three sons — Shivraj, Raghavendra and Puneet — all became successful actors.
A mob of people overturns a police car after hearing news of the death of veteran Indian
film actor Rajkumar in the southern Indian city of Bangalore April 12, 2006. (Jagadeesh Nv/Reuters)
Wasn't he in the Village People?
A mob of people overturns a police car after hearing news of the death of veteran Indian
film actor Rajkumar in the southern Indian city of Bangalore April 12, 2006. (Jagadeesh Nv/Reuters)
200 Canada language films, eh?
That picture is familiar. I think I saw him in a porno film once! :)
A man falls unconscious after hearing news of the death of veteran Indian film actor
Rajkumar in the southern Indian city of Bangalore April 12, 2006. (Jagadeesh Nv/Reuters)
Dang. I was hoping it was the Bandit Queen.
Will Sabu offer to speak at the memorial?
Time to make the donuts… the donuts…
Once authorities gave his corpse to the crowd, things settled down.
I don’t know exactly what the crowd did with the corpse.
Sometimes, it’s best just to not ask questions.
Must be the muslimes.
I always liked Jimmy Stewart. My favorite actor. When he died back in the early or mid-1990s, I considered going on a rampage, burning cars and breaking storefront windows and whatnot. (sarcasm)
That's some bad hair!
Anti-ghee riots?
the guy who died is a SOB. that idiot polarized banglore. he was against non-kannada movies (kannada is the language of karnataka state, whose capital is Banglore), raised idiotic movements against people from other states to settle in banglore.
now these idiots, most of them road-side beggers!, want to destroy public property coz this moron died?
despite being an Indian, i sometimes dont understand what goes in the minds of these mobs. alright, your favourite actor died. so wtf is anyone supposed to do? esp. when he died of natural causes and not assisnated or something. i just feel people who are in mobs like these should be .....! grrrrrr.
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