PHOTO MOMENT: Fans taking pictures of Rajkumar's statue, which was unveiled on the late actor's 79th birth anniversary in Bangalore on Tuesday. — Photo: Bhagya Prakash K.

BANGALORE: It was of the fans, for the fans and, more importantly, by the fans. A bust of thespian Rajkumar was unveiled on Tuesday amid the bursting of crackers and raising of slogans by hundreds of his admirers.

Fans waited with bated breath to get a first look at the statue of their favourite actor, who died over a year ago. Standing behind the barricades put up by the police as well as on top of the footbridge, they waited for a long time for the arrival of Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, who turned up nearly an hour late. When the cloth covering the statue was removed for a brief while, the fans cheered. The covering was quickly replaced only to be opened moments before the chief guest arrived.

Dr. Rajkumar Fans Association had got the statue erected on Kempe Gowda Road near the Santosh cinema. It was unveiled to mark the actor's 79th birth anniversary.

Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, who unveiled the statue, said that Dr. Rajkumar had not been a mere actor but one who had fought for the State's land and water. He had risen to every occasion that had called for his intervention.

The statue would serve as a constant reminder to the public of his personality, and would inspire people to adopt some of his ideals, he said.

Holiday

Mr. Kumaraswamy assured the actor's fans that the Government would make sincere efforts to declare a holiday on April 24 to mark Rajkumar's birthday. This was following a demand made by president of the Dr. Rajkumar Fans Association Sa. Ra. Govindu. Dinesh Gundu Rao, MLA, and former president of the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce H.D. Gangaraj supported the demand.

The Chief Minister said his Government was already making efforts to build a memorial for Rajkumar at the venue of his "samadhi" at Kanteerava Studios and was keen to make it a national attraction. The blueprint for the memorial was ready and work would start once the suggestions made for it were incorporated, he added.

Parvathamma Rajkumar, wife of Rajkumar, thanked the fans association for getting the statue erected.

Her son Raghavendra Rajkumar was present. Many fans, including actor Leelavathi and her son Vinod Raj, paid tributes to Rajkumar.

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