Biography
Dr Rajkumar was born on 24th April, 1929 in Gajanur, a small village in Tamil Nadu. His official name was Singanalluru Puttaswamayya Muthuraju and only came to be known as Rajkumar after joining films. His father, Puttuswami, was a famous Kannad dramatist. Dr Rajkumar was married to Parvathamma and had 5 children. He has three sons, Shiva Rajkumar, Ragavendra Rajkumar and Punith Rajkumar, and two daughters, Lakshmi and Poornima.
Rajkumar began his career as a dramatist in his father's troupe. He learned acting and singing from Gubbi Veeranna, the leader of the troupe. His portrayal of Arjuna on the stage earned him lots of accolades.
Rajkumar got his first break in the film industry in 1954 when he was offered the lead role in the movie Bedara Kannapa. HLM Simha directed the movie and it was who had rechristened him as Rajkumar, which means The Prince. A versatile actor, Rajkumar played different roles with utmost ease. Whether it was comedy, action, modern issues or mythological movie, this stalwart of Kannad cinema performed it brilliantly.
Rajkumar had worked with some of the top directors of Kannad film industry like BR Pantulu, Puttanna Kanagal, Shankar Nag and Nagabharana. Although Rajkumar had received offers from the other film industries he never ventured out of Kannad cinema. In total, Rajkumar had acted in a leading role in 206 movies. Besides these he had also made guest appearances in many other films. Throughout his acting career, Rajkumar had acted with all the leading ladies of Kannad film industry. Some of them are Leelavathi, Bharati, Jayanti Arati, Pandaribai, Jayaprada, Sarita, Geetha and Madhavi.
Family
Rajkumar married Parvathamma Gowda, his cousin, on 25 June 1953 in Nanjangud. Together, they had five children; sons Shiva, Raghavendra and Puneeth, and daughters Lakshmi and Poornima.