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Legendary hues
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The exhibition of paintings on Raj Kumar is a masterful tribute to the thespian
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Brush strokes The magic of Raj Kumar is captured on canvas
It is easy and at the same time difficult to paint the most recognisable face of Karnataka, Raj Kumar. A few artists have, however, attempted to capture him on canvas.
Raj Kumar refuses to go away from the memory of Kannadigas. In fact, with every passing year, the love for their Annavaru is only increasing. A group of painters are the latest to have been inspired by the stalwart. At Karnataka Chitrakala Parishat about 30 painters have tried to translate Raj Kumar from celluloid onto their canvases. These paintings are an outcome of painting camp organised immediately after Raj Kumar’s death on April 12, 2006 by the Ministry of Culture.
If he is likened to be Lord Brahma in one canvas then in another he is sitting in a pushpak vimana going to heaven. If one painter has used collage to depict him, then another has used a digital print or oils. The artists may have employed varied media and different languages of abstraction but all the paintings try to depict him on the basis of how his fans view him.
Ravi Kumar Kashi uses the silk screen method to paint six similar images of Rajkumar in different colours wearing a mysore peta. In the last image, one of his yoga mudras is painted over his image, emphasising the importance of yoga in the legendary actor’s life. Veteran artist V.T. Kale has painted Raj Kumar’s face with his most famous and beloved roles arranged around in the pattern of dasa avatars. J.S. Mani has shown him like Lord Brahma with three faces perched atop a mountain-shaped figure. Mani has consciously used images of Raj Kumar’s final journey for a sense of atmosphere. Mani says: “Lord Brahma is the creator of the universe and Raj Kumar is the creator of cinema in Karnataka. That is why I have drawn parallels between him and Lord Brahma.
Around this mound containing pictures of his dead body being taken in procession, I have used bright colours to show the anger, disappointment Kannadigas felt at the time of his death.”
A work inspired by Raj Kumar’s film, “Bangarada Manushya”, has a visitor commenting: “He was really Bangarada manushya, a golden-hearted man. He was same in reel and real life. Nobody in the history of Indian cinema has been as versatile as he was and this has been rightly portrayed in some of the paintings.”
All the artists featured in the exhibition have at some time or the other appreciated his work and noticed his overwhelming influence on Kannadigas and these paintings are not just a homage to the actor in reel life but also a great human being in real life.
The exhibition is on till May 7 at the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishat.
The paintings are not for sale and will be permanently on display at the soon-to-be-built Rajkumar museum and auditorium.
SHAILAJA TRIPATHI TANEJA
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