In his reel-life journey spanning nearly four dec ades, superstar Rajini kanth has been mobbed by lakhs of fans for autographs. But the only autograph the actor ever sought in his life was that of Kannada matinee idol Dr Rajkumar.At a function organised
on Saturday to mark the inauguration
of the Rajkumar
Memorial at the Kanteerava
Studio, he said, “I was in primary school and around 11 years when I learnt that he (Rajkumar
) had come near the temple at Kempambudhi
lake (in Bengaluru'sKempeGowdaNagar).
I took an autograph from him, and till date I have not taken one from anyone else."
Rajinikanth has a strong Bengaluru
connection dating back to his days when he wasn't into films yet. The function was attended by Telugu
film star-turned-politician Chiranjeevi, Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah
and Rajkumar's
family.Recalling the various roles donned by Rajkumar
on the silverscreen
, Rajinikanth
compared the late actor to a stallion full of energy and said: “A lot of saints, asuras
(demons) and even James Bond have mounted the stallion (referring to Rajkumar
). I guess he was the favourite
of all saints. After him, no other stallion, including me, have had the strength to play such roles. The only regret that Rajkumar
expressed was not playing the role of Bhakta
Ambareesha.“Rajinikanth also shared an anecdote about Rajkumar's
humility: “One evening I took him in a car for an evening walk at the Tata Institute (referring to IISc
). En route, the car met with an accident. As we waited alot
of people did namaskara
to him; first it was a groundnut vendor, then an auto driver, a bus driver, a man in a car and his driver, and finally a woman made her three-year-old kid do a namaskara
to him with folded hands. Later, while walking he asked me if I observed how he was respected by them. I said “yes“ and added: “If not you who else would they give so much respect to.“ He looked at me and said, “You mad guy, they are not giving me respect.They are respecting the Saraswati
(talent) in me.“ He taught me to respect talent.“Chiranjeevi described how he was fond of Rajkumar
. “I once got an opportunity to see Rajkumar
on the sets. I went to him and greeted him. He not only enquired my well-being, but also sought to know how the people of Andhra
Pradesh were doing. I was inspired by him. He was full of humility and was very down-to-earth.“Chiranjeevi recalled how he was lauded by Rajkumar
when his movie GharanaMogudu
played to packed houses in the Kannada-dominatedHubballi
region.CM Siddaramaiah
said he was inspired by Rajkumar
and pledged to donate his eyes.