The musical legacy of Kannada screen icon Dr Rajkumar was revisited this week with the launch of Nadayogi Dr Rajkumar, a new book exploring the late actor’s deep understanding of music and Hindustani classical traditions. The book was unveiled by his daughter Poornima Ramkumar at a function held at the Artists’ Association in Bengaluru.
Written by R Manjunath Chavan and Dr Soumya Manjunath Chavan, the bilingual Kannada-English volume traces Rajkumar’s lifelong relationship with music — from film songs and ghazals to his curiosity for learning even in his later years.
Speaking at the event, Poornima recalled how central music was to her father’s life. “Music was his breath,” she said, adding that the entire family shared his love for the art form. She also noted that the authors, who were close to the family, were uniquely positioned to document a lesser-explored side of the actor’s life.
What added a global dimension to the launch was the presence of representatives from the Kaveri Kannada Sangha in Tanzania. Organizers said the book will travel to East Africa, marking a rare instance of a Kannada publication on Rajkumar reaching Kannada-speaking communities there.
Author R Manjunath Chavan said his association with Rajkumar dated back to the 1992 film Jeevana Chaitra. He described the actor as someone with remarkable knowledge of both Carnatic and Hindustani music, and said the book was born out of a desire to archive that passion for future generations.
The launch also carried a symbolic coincidence: Rajkumar’s debut film Bedara Kannappa released on May 7, 1954, and the book arrived exactly 72 years later, on May 7, 2026. Among those present at the event were producer Rockline Venkatesh and Lahari Music’s Manohar Naidu and Velu.
