Unknown Facts About Dr Rajkumar Every Annavru Fan Must Know
Call yourself an Annavru fan? Then you should by now know how Muthuraj became Rajkumar. From being a theatre artiste to a huge Kannada star, the legendary actor's journey itself has a lot of lessons. If you consider yourself a fan of Dr Rajkumar, then we bet there are things you didn't know about the late actor. Today being the death anniversary of Dr Rajkumar, we thought why not share some unknown facts about the actor every Annavru fan must know. Shall we begin?
Dr Rajkumar was the first Sandalwood actor to receive the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award which was conferred upon him by the Indian govt in the year 1995.
Dr Rajkumar was also the first Kannada actor to receive the honarary doctorate from Mysore University in the year 1976.
He is also the only actor to have been bestowed with the Kentucky colonel award by the US governor in the year 1985.
Dr Rajkumar is also the only actor to have earned several titles to his name. As per records, he has over 15 honours. Nata Sarwabhowma, Rasikara Raja, Gaana Gandharva, Bangarada Manushya and Varanata are few of the many titles that the actor earned in his lifetime.
If you thought Bollywood badshah is Shah Rukh Khan because his movie DDLJ was played for years at a famous single screen theatre in Mumbai, then let us tell you Dr Rajkumar achieved this years ago in Sandalwood. The actor's most popular movie Bangarada Manushya was the only movie to have not only earned a great collection at the box office but also run for two years continuously in a theatre. The movie which released in the year 1972 also ran for a year in over 5 theatres.
Dr Rajkumar was a student of Gubbi Veeranna theatre company. He made his debut with the movie Bedara Kannappa way back in the year 1954 and guess what? He earned the state award for his very first movie.
Dr Rajkumar was not only a fine actor. He was also a great singer. Even though he did not have any formal training in classical music, he rendered several songs across genres effortlessly. He earned national award for his rendition of the classical number Nadamaya in 1992 for his movie Jeevana Chaitra.
Dr Rajkumar is one of the few Indian actors to have record number of fan clubs across the world. As per records then, there are over 5,000 Dr Rajkumar fan clubs around the globe.
Even though it's been over a decade that he passed away, Dr Rajkumar is immortal in the hearts of millions of fans.