What inspired you to make Dr Rajkumar: An analysis of a phenomenon?
When Dr Rajkumar died, there was such an interesting sense of “regional patriotism”, which overwhelmed me. For days, songs from Rajkumar movies were heard everywhere, his pictures and films were shown continuously at every possible avenue. The entire state mourned his death. The events/riots that followed his death were tragic and unpardonable. There were many reasons for it and I chose not to get into any of those negativities. What inspired me was all this, and at that moment I decided to make a film that will discuss this superstar’s impact on society. I have always been curious about this interesting subject of, impact of film stars on Indian society, and I find this to be a very peculiar and fascinating aspect of our films. Where else in the world will film stars have such influence? Also, I have myself grown up on his films and they have stayed in my memory even to this day.
So you really feel that film stars can have such a huge impact on the general public?
Yes. You have to meet some of the people who literally worship Rajkumar, those who swear by him, those who still follow the values he stood for.
What kind of research has gone into making this film?
The entire process of making this film took us two years.
The research was as comprehensive as we could make it.
It involved meeting people who were close to Rajkumar, reading up about him, talking to his family about him, interacting with writers, the film fraternity, his co-stars and co-workers. More importantly, I wanted an intellectual analysis about him, which was never done before. This took me to literary experts like U R Ananthamurthy, Nisar Ahmed and Jayanth Kaikini. I also wanted a common man’s perspective - so I talked to people who visit his samadhi every day, people who were extremely fanatical and literally worshipped him as well as IT professionals who are hardcore fans of Rajkumar.
What was the most interesting part of shooting this film?
Shooting with Amitabh Bachchan in Mumbai – it was a fantastic experience being with the Big B for over 20 minutes, in his make-up van, discussing Rajkumar.
Shooting with Vishnu, Jayanthi and PB Srinivos, was equally insightful. Of course, UR Ananthamurthy and Jayanth Kaikini had fascinating aspects and analysis of Rajkumar. I have to mention the dedication of Ramesh Aravind, who has narrated and presented this film. I spent several hours in the audio studio with him for the voice recording, as he kept improvising his modulations and expressions.
The film is in English.
Are there subtitles for the local audience?
This film was made with the objective of showcasing Rajkumar and his socio-cultural impact to non-Kannada audiences (both Indian and global). Secondly, I felt it was going to be a more challenging task to make a film about this hard-core Kannada superstar in English, as there were many films about him already made in Kannada. I felt someone like Rajkumar needs to be “unchained” and released from this sphere of Kannada fanaticism and exposed to the world, as his talent, persona and achievements have had a deep impact on our society, and this is something that is so special about south Indian film stars. Our society is heavily influenced by films and they define the way we are, the way we dress, behave and our value systems. In many ways, they influence the masses in ways that are almost unbelievable and magical.
What can the audience expect from it?
A rare and holistic experience of seeing and hearing Rajkumar’s co-stars, literary experts, friends, family, fans talking, seeing the best clips of his films and excerpts of his songs – all in one hour’s time!
What if the people object to certain parts of the film since everyone in Bangalore is so particular about how Dr Rajkumar should be portrayed?
The film is not a biography. It is a socio-cultural analysis of his impact. I have tried very hard to be analytical and objective, but everything about Rajkumar tends to be like an eulogy.
What next for you?
We have envisioned several projects. We are working on a huge project that will document old Bangalore (Bangalore that was!) in a true multimedia format.
We are also working on another project on the Vachana Sahitya movement and its relevance to today’s society.
Every year Maya Chandra’s Dr Rajkumar – Our Annavaru: An analysis of a phenomenon is being screened during April, which happens to be Rajkumar’s birth and death month.