Dr Rajkumar - Remembered through songs Part 2



This is the second post in the blog. In part 1, we covered songs from Devotional and Mythological movies.  If you have missed part one, please read it here

I have updated the chart below  with selection of movies for this post. We will be going through the songs from movies of the Historical, Social Relevance and Social Drama genre.




Dr Rajkumar - Selected Movies by Genre



Ithihaasika(Historical Movies)

There are numerous historical  movies which Dr Raj acted in.  There are a lot more historical movies Dr Raj acted in but my selections above are based on the iconic songs and performance in these movies. From what I remember, Dr Raj played a minor role as Chenamma's husband in Kittur Rani Chenamma(which had an outstanding performance from Sri Saroja Devi) and he played Pulakeshi the chalukya king in Immadi Pulakeshi.

Dr Raj played Mayura Varma in Mayura, the first kannadiga king of the Kadamba dynasty. The movie tracks his rise from a simple Brahmin to a king. There were many beautiful songs in the movie helping the narrative but the most popular and iconic was the song "Naaniruvude nimagaagi".  The song's lyrics were so powerful that it has been used on other occasions also to bring people together for other pro-kannada movements.

Sri KrishnaDevaraya is yet another iconic movie and tracks the story of this emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire. Powerful performances from everyone in the cast and great direction was the hallmark of the movie. Again the music was very good but the one song which stands out for me is Krishnadevaraya and his two wives singing "Tirupathi Girivaasa" in front of the Tirumala Lord "Sri Venkateshwara". 

Much later, Dr Raj played the role of Kalidasa, a poet in the times of the Raja Bhoja in Kavirathna Kalidasa. Dr Raj lived through the role as he transforms from a village bumpkin(shepherd) to a scholarly poet through the grace of Goddess Kali. Again, wonderful acting was accompanied by situational songs out of which "Belli moodithu, Koli Koogithu" is probably everyone's favorite. But, the best part of the movie for me is the hymns Dr Raj sings in praise of the goddess as he attains enlightenment, "Manikya Veena Mupalalayantim". 

Samaajika kalakali (Social Relevance)

Most movies of Dr Raj had a message for society. Some of them were explicit and in a lot of others, there was implicit messaging throughout the movies. Here I have selected those which were made with specific social issues in mind. In some of these movies, the other actors got equal or more footage than Dr Raj. 

Bangaarada hoovu deals with the trails and trauma of a couple in love when the heroine (played by Kalpana) is diagnosed as a leprosy patient. The hero played by Dr Raj is forced by parents and others to consider another girl for marriage. However, the story has a positive ending to show that leprosy can be cured and the old lovers unite.  There are melodious songs such as "Oduva Nadi Saagarava" and "Aaa mogavu Entha Cheluvu" but the song which probably is still very popular even on the reality shows is an all female duet "Nee nadeva haadiyalli" sung by  the two heroines in the movies with Dr Raj in the background. 

Naandi was another movie which captured the real-time plights of deaf people in a romantic drama. It was the first Kannada movie to be screened in an International Film Festival. Dr Raj plays the husband of a mute girl and the song "Haadonda haaduve nee kelu maguve"  reveals the pathos and anxiety of a father for a child who is yet to be born. 

Saakshaatkaara , which had the great Prithviraj Kapoor playing a character role was another beautiful movie, which had some great performances from all the cast.  The movie dealt with the issues of superstition and beliefs where the hero and the heroine are separated just before marriage due to the belief that the horoscopes don't match and their union will result in untimely death of one of them. Great songs in the movie but the song which really gives me goosebumps is "Olave Jeevana Saakshaatkaara". 

Samaajika (Social Drama)

Coming to social dramas, there are a number of movies which Dr Raj acted in which went on to become hits with very popular songs.

The crowning glory of these set of the films has to be Bangaarada Manushya. Great story, acting and music made it one of the biggest hits in Dr Raj’s career. There are so many good songs in the movie from “Hani Hani Goodidra halla”, “Aaha Mysooru mallige”,  to “Baala bangaara neenu”. However, there are two songs which depict the mood of the film which is about staying positive and hard working irrespective the issues one faces in life. These are “Nagu Nagutha Nali Nali” and “Aagadu yendu Kai Katti Kulithare”.

Sipayi Ramu was another movie about how society and circumstances pushes the protagonist towards dacoity.  Shot in the real Chambal valley, the movie had great songs and acting but the song which is played a lot is “Yellige payana, yaavudo daari”. This song was played in the background on every TV channel when Dr Raj passed away.

The next movie I am going to talk about is Kasturi Nivasa, a milestone in Dr Raj’s career. He carried the movie with his performance. The songs are evergreen with “Nee bandu ninthaaga”, “Aadona neenu naanu”,  “Elle Iru Hege Iru” being popular even today. However, arguably Dr Raj’s most played song is “Aadisi Nodu Beelisi Nodu”. The image of Dr Raj with a pigeon comes to mind immediately.


I have created and shared a youtube playlist with the selected songs above. Please click on this link (will open in a new window).



 Thanks for reading the article. Hope you could relive the songs along with me. If you liked it, let me know with a comment below. I will post a follow-up in the coming days.

Comments

  1. CR Nagendra 25 April 2020 at 14:53

    Nice finish Vijay..do similar things on other actors also

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MusicSpeak25 April 2020 at 17:59

      I still have a couple more parts coming up. Watch this space !!

      Delete

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