#Happy Birthday Dr Rajkumar: Best movies of the veteran that are a must-watch

Dr Rajkumar is a great legend from Indian cinema who has acted in more than 200 movies. He was not only a great actor but also a great singer, who has sung more than 300 songs in movies and over 400 devotional songs. Rajkumar, who was a theatre artist in Gubbi Drama Company, started his big-screen career with the movie ‘Bedara Kannappa’. His films have been remade in many languages. His last film was the 2000 movie ‘Shabdavedi’ after which he passed away in 2006. Let's take a look at a few super hit films of Dr Rajkumar.

Dr Rajkumar who started his career as a drama artist in Gubbi Drama Company got an opportunity to act on the big screen with ‘Bedara Kannappa’. The 1954 film was directed by HLN Simha. In the movie, Dr Rajkumar played the character of the hunter ‘Kanna’ who wants to prove his devotion to Lord Shiva, and removes his eyes and gives them to the Lord. The last scene of the movie where he plucks his eyes out and hands them to Lord Shiva gives goose bumps to the audience. Later, this movie was remade in different languages including Tamil and Telugu.

‘Kasturi Nivasa’ was one of the best films in Dr Rajkumar’s career. This 1971 movie was directed by two directors B Dorairaj and SK Bhagavan. ‘Kasturi Nivasa’ is a sentimental film which was remade in Hindi and Tamil. Rajkumar gave the best performance in this movie, portraying a man who is generous and who selflessly donates all his wealth and loses everything. Rajkumar made everyone tear up with his acting in the movie. ‘Aadisu Nodu Bilisi Nodu’ is one of the best songs from the film which is remembered even today.

The story of ‘Bangarada Manushya’ was based on a TK Rama novel and was directed by Siddalingaiah. When we talk about Dr Rajkumar’s movies, ‘Bangarada Manushya’ will be remembered by everyone. This 1972 movie encourages people to take up agriculture. The plot of the movie sees Rajkumar playing the character of Rajiv who is an educator and goes to meet his sister. He finds out that his brother-in-law died and Rajiv decides to help his sister by farming on her land. Music played a huge role in this movie. ‘Aagadu Endu Kai Katti Kulitare’ was one of the best motivational songs from the album.

Fans from the 70s believe that Dr Rajkumar was the original Indian version of James-bond. ‘Operation Diamond Racket’ was the last movie in Rajkumar’s bond series directed by B Dorairaj and SK Bhagavan. This bond movie which was released in 1978 has a unique storyline, which was much loved by the audience. ‘Operation Diamond Racket’ was re-released in 2013.

‘Sampathige Saval’ was one of the musical super hits of Dr Rajkumar where his character is seen challenging a landlord and protests against him. This 1974 movie was directed by AV Seshagiri Rao. ‘Yaare Koogadali’ was one of the best songs from the movie. Dr Rajkumar debuted as a playback singer in this movie.

The great legends of the Kannada film industry Shankarnag and Dr Rajkumar came together for a brilliant movie ‘Ondu Mutthina Kathe’. This 1987 movie which was directed by Shankarnag was based on John Steinbeck’s book ‘The Pearl’. This movie was a huge commercial and artistic success in Sandalwood. Dr Rajkumar played the character of Muttu who is a fisherman, who gets a precious pearl in the ocean and tries to sell it but faces many problems. This was the first Indian movie to shoot underwater.

‘Shabdavedhi’ was the last movie in Dr Rajkumar’s career, which was directed by S Narayan and produced by Parvathamma Rajkumar. The 2000 movie is based on a novel by the same name written by Vijay Sasanur. Rajkumar played the role of a police officer in the movie and was seen fighting against the narcotics mafia. Even at the age of 70, Rajkumar's acting mesmerised the audience. The music also attracted the audience which was composed by Hamsalekha.