Rajkumar passes away, Bangalore paralysed

For five crore Kannadigas, the demise of their idol Rajkumar was as dramatic as it was totally unexpected. His passing away following cardiac arrest at 1.45 pm brought the IT capital of the country to a total standstill.

As soon as the news of the actor's demise spread, the whole of Karnataka, especially the Old Mysore region (consisting of South and Central Karnataka districts), which is considered the actor's bastion, observed an undeclared bandh as a mark of respect.

In Bangalore, traders and business establishments all downed shutters to condole the death of the star. The city came to a complete standstill with public transport services, including autorickshaws, going off the roads. A majority of the IT companies declared a holiday after incidents of stone throwing and torching of buses were reported.

Vehicular traffic piled up and a traffic jam was reported from Bellary Road as thousands of fans ran towards the upmarket Sadashivanagar locality for a last glimpse of their favourite actor. The police had a difficult time controlling the crowd pouring into the actor's residence. The area had to be finally cordoned off.

At Palace Grounds, leading to the actor's residence, the police had to burst teargas shells to disperse the crowd. By 4 pm, Central Business Districts like M G Road, Commercial Street and Airport Road, wore a deserted look. The stream of visitors to the actor's residence read like who's who of the South Indian film industry. Actor-turned MP Ambarish was among the first to visit Sadashivanagar. By evening, virtually every known member of the Kannada film industry was there.

Chief minister H D Kumaraswamy summoned an emergency meeting of the state cabinet to pay homage to the film star. The government decided to give a state funeral to the megastar. A two-day state mourning was also announced. The government also declared a general holiday on Thursday.

Rajkumar addressed his fans as "abhimaani devarugale" (fans are my gods). This always won him thunderous applause and endeared him to millions.

When the star actor was kidnapped by forest brigand Veerappan, the entire Kannada film industry expressed solidarity with Rajkumar. The industry was shut down for more than 130 days with not a single frame being shot.

"I still can't believe that he is no more. To me, he is a person who signifies the best of the human values. I never knew his demise was so near. All of us are shattered," remarked Ambarish, who acted with Rajkumar in several films.

Jnanpith award recipient U R Ananthmurthy said Rajkumar was an institution by himself. "There cannot be any replacement to Rajkumar. He won over millions of hearts. His contribution to the growth of Kannada film industry is immense. His stand towards Kannada language and culture is undisputed," he added.

Film actor Ramesh said with Rajkumar passing away, an era in the Kannada film industry had ended. JD (S) supremo H D Deve Gowda said the demise of the actor had created a void in the state. "Every person is aware of his contributions towards the state. He fetched laurels and accolades to Karnataka," he added.