True blue Kannada icons are hard to come by - and there was no one bigger than Dr. Rajkumar. After struggling for the past couple of years due to a weak knee and heart, the megastar passed away yesterday.
Critics have questioned his contribution to society, and have carped upon the fact that he could have done much more. My counter is this - how many people in this world have the power to provide 3 hours of joy multiple times over to 50 million (5 crore) people? Whatever anyone does is never enough, but to his credit, he has done more than most to bring some joy to people, and united a large population desperately looking for a leader. And while his superstar peers, MGR and NTR took the political route and did enough harm, Dr. Raj shunned politics when all he had to do to become Karnataka CM was say yes.
Generations have grown up watching his movies, and his talent and dedication is undisputed. I remember some of his movies, but I remember his songs that much more. He has been a part of my growing up. It is common knowledge that his sons have damaged the Kannada film industry, but Dr. Raj himself has never been tainted by any scandal, always dignified and humble. I am no rabid fan of his, but I felt bad yesterday. We may never see anyone like him again.
He meant something to all of us in Karnataka.
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