If anybody deserves the Bharath Ratna then it is none other than Late Rajkumar. Conceding that th
e politicians and Media do overemphasis the role of movie actors as it provides them with saleable faces and glossy bytes but Rajkumar was above all these. He avoided the media and carried no pretensions of grandeur. A man so humble and impeccable in his bearing that all sections of society in Karnataka admire him. The outsiders particularly the anglicized elites squatting in power centers may have a cynical view on this but the fact is common people in Karnataka consider him God. There is nothing wrong in that since he epitomized what they considered admirable (in reel and real life, as also a hugely successful actor) and he on his part never misused that trust. He did attempt to channelise these into positive action but never for personal gain, indications on how much he respected people. He was truly great. He was to Karnataka (and to many south Indians) what Dilip Kumar (taking another example from film industry and a great human) is to north India. The nation needs to recognize him with the highest award.
Post Script: It is bit late though and one wonders what he would have made out of this demand!!!. I guess some people are so great that it increases the worth of awards.
In recent times though these admirable symbols are being hijacked by parochial forces, this is very sad. It is also very unfortunate that Tamilians are targeted and many cinema halls don’t show Tamil movies. This blogger rarely goes for movies but Rajnikanth movies are something I don’t like to miss (I like his style. Njan oru thavana solutha pathu thavana solamadiri… jagarudhe. Beat that one!!!!. He is the most stylish actor i have come across). So one wonders what happens to his latest movie in Karnataka. If it is not released in Karnataka it will be nothing short of tragedy.
