Remembering Dr. Rajkumar on his 94th birth anniversary: 10 Facts you must know about Kannada cinema's Annavaru

Dr. Rajkumar or Annavaru, as his fans fondly call and remember him, is rightfully hailed as the pride of the Kannada film industry. For those, who've just cued in on Kannada cinema, following the 'KGF' franchise and 'Kantara' phenomenon, here's what you must know about the actor who defined his industry for decades

Born on April 24, 1929 at Gajanur village in Tamil Nadu as Singanalluru Puttaswamayya Muthuraju

He studied only till Grade 3. He eventually dropped out of school and followed his father, a travelling actor

He appeared as a child artist in the 1942 film 'Bhakta Prahlada' in a small role and also in the 1952 film 'Sri Srinivasa Kalyana' as Sage Agasthya, one of the holy seven sages

He once bathed in public restrooms as he was not given a room, owing to his non-Brahmin status while essaying the role of Brahmin saint in 'Sri Srinivasa Kalyana'

He acted in over 200 films and never played a villain

He was kidnapped by dreaded criminal Veerappan and was held hostage for 109 days before being released

He trained in classical music during his theatre days and eventually sang in films. He mostly sang for his own films

The actor is said to have sung the only English song in the history of Kannada movies in the 1978 film 'Operation Diamond Rocket'

In 1968 alone, the actor starred in as many as 16 films

Following his death on April 12, 2006, his eyes were donated immediately to the visually impaired