Past forwarded to future

A book on Rajkumar compiled by his family members will be launched early next year

They have put in their four years of efforts into the book, The Person Behind the Personality, which promises to be a visual treat bearing rare pictures of Dr Rajkumar. The book has captured some of the best moments in the life of the legend. “I wanted to put together a book and lay it on my father’s lap but things didn’t work out. But I want the world to know that a man like my father lived, breathed and walked the surface of this earth,” says Puneeth Rajkumar.

 Puneeth and his kin had travelled far and wide to meet and interact with people close to appaji. The result is a mine of information about the different facets that made Rajkumar. “It’s the person behind the personality that we decided to look for and we were left amazed by the depth and range of the man who was known for his simplicity,” says Puneeth. Ragavendra Rajkumar too, who has contributed to the book, says the book has touched upon those aspects about appaji that people don’t really know, “there’s not much of cinema, it’s a family-centric  book,” he says.

The book has pictures and memorable recollections by members of the Rajkumar family. His sons, daughters, daughters-in-law and sons-in-law have all contributed to the making of the book. There’s trivia about Dr Rajkumar that speaks much about him. It has tidbits, like how he has sung more than 200 devotional songs. Interviews with his old friends are aplenty.

“We have managed to knit together 2,000 to 3,000 old photographs, some very rare. The book hopes to bring the reader closer to the man who changed the face of Kannada cinema,” says Prakruthi N Biswas, the editor of the book and adds, “there are faces and sides of Dr Rajkumar that one hasn’t known. While I skimmed through the vast research material I realised that this was one man who was beyond any comparison.” The book is slated for launch early next year.