Indian Songs & Movies

Mylari (Kannada Movie), Shivarajkumar, Wallpapers, Songs, Videos

2010-12-26T23:09:00.000-08:00

Mylari (Kannada Movie), Cast: Shivrajkumar, Sada, Sanjana, Rangayana Raghu Direction: R Chandru

It is a story of Mylari(Shivarajkumar) from Mylapura, who falls in love with his childhood friend Anitha(Sada). She is a daughter of a rich villager.She is engaged to another man even though she loves Mylari. The story takes u turn when Mylari has to leave the village and work as a journalist in Bangalore that is new to him. The Bangalore circumstances force him to kill KOTE JANARDHAN, a local politician. After that the court sentenced him to deatch. But his writing talent changes his fortunes. That is the suspense. See the movie enjoy the climax.

Its the very nice new year gift for Shivarajkumar's fans with excellent role play and directed by R Chandru. The film has combined with sentiment romance and action without compromising on the flow of the story.

Mylari Wallpaper Download:

Pooja Gandhi (ಪೂಜ ಗಾಂಧಿ), Sandalwood Actress, Wallpapers, Hot Pics, Movies,Kannada

2008-10-13T16:13:00.000-07:00

Pooja Gandhi ( ಪೂಜ ಗಾಂಧಿ )

Name: Pooja Gandhi ( Sanjana Gandhi )

Place of Birth: Panjab

Father: Pawan Ghandhi ( Bussiness man )

Schooling: New Delhi Public school

Years of active: 2003 -present

Film industries: Kannada,Bengali,Tamil

Big hit movie: Mungarumale (Kannada)

Other Name(s)	Sanjana Gandhi
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2003

Pooja Gandhi (Kannada :ಪೂಜ ಗಾಂಧಿ), also known as Sanjana Gandhi, is a popular actress in Kannada film industry. She hails from Punjab. She studied in New Delhi Public School. Her father, Pawan Gandhi is a businessman. She left her studies midway during her first year graduation when she got an opportunity to act in a Bengali film. Since then, she has never looked back and has been associated with success in the South Indian film industry.Sanjana Gandhi one of the beautiful South Indian Actress hails from Punjab.

After I year B.com she lost interest in studies.She got an opportunity to act in a Bengali film. From there she has never looked back and has been associated with successful and very good South Indian films.

Pooja Gandhi debut films and many more ' Tum ake Salam' which was a Bengali film released in 2003 was her debut. 'Koki' in Tamil was a super hit and that was a great beginning of her entry to South Indian films. She has also acted in 'Dhamad Ke Intizaar' and has even finished a Tamil film 'Vaideeshwaran' opposite Sharatkumar. She has also entered the Sandalwood Industry Kannada Film Industry beginning with Mungaaru Male which was a Smash hit of 2006. It has finished 250 days and is still running houseful, is even the most successful Kannada film till date beating Dr.Raj's film. Mungarumale has earned till now a huge sum of forty crores, the highest till now in the Kannada film Industry.

She says, "My recent movie 'Mungaaru Male' which was a very great success was a rich experience for me though I had face some health problems as the rain was lashing all the time while we were shooting. But all's well now.I think the saying goes right that to gain something you have lose something and that has applied in my case too. But the success of my film doesn't mean that I am going to take a break for a long time. I have already signed two film with Himadri and Sujith Radhakrishnan and I will start shooting for them very soon. I have come here to stay and get the name of a good actress and do very good roles which will enrich my experience as an actress. Marriage is many miles away from me and is definitely not on the cards. Achievement and good name is my only goal for now. My dream roles are that of 'Arth' and 'Lamhe'".

Filmography :

Kannada

Mungarumale

Manmatha

Milana

Krishna

Hani Hani

Accident

Kamannana Makkalu

Tata Birla

Tajmahal

Maharshi

Kodagana Koli Nungitha

Anu

Budhivantha

Bengali

Tum ake Salam

Tamil

Kokki

Thiruvannamalai

Vaitheeswaran

Meera Jasmine (Tamil : மீரா ஜாஸ்மின், Telugu మీరా జాస్మిన్, Kannada ಮೀರಾ ಜಸ್ಮಿನ್) ,Malayalm, Wallpapers, Hot Pics, Movies

2008-10-13T07:07:00.000-07:00

Meera Jasmine

Real Name : Jasmine Mary Joseph

Born : 15 February 1984

Place : Thiruvalla, Pathanamthitta in Kerala

Meera Jasmine (Tamil : மீரா ஜாஸ்மின், Telugu మీరా జాస్మిన్, Kannada ಮೀರಾ ಜಸ್ಮಿನ್) (born Jasmine Mary Joseph on 15 February 1984) is an national award -winning Indian film Actress who appears in various regional Indian movies.

Meerah Jasmine was born on 15 February 1984 in Kuttappuzha, Thiruvalla, Pathanamthitta in Kerala. Born as Jasmine Mary Joseph to Joseph and Aleyamma, a Marhomire by birth, she completed her schooling in Mar Thoma Residential School, Thiruvalla.

Not born into a family of actors, Meerah was an unnoticed talent. She was introduced to the industry by Lohithadas.

Malayalam

Meerah made her debut in the Malayalam film Soothradharan in 2001 directed by Lohithdas opposite Dileep. Though the film flopped, she received offers from other languages. She has starred in a dozen Malayalam films in her six-year career. Her second film was directed by ace director Kamal, alongside Navya Nair, opposite Dileep. Her role as a Jewish girl was appreciated by Malayalam cine goers. Her third movie was a romantic comedy along side Prithviraj, Kunchako boban, Jayasurya, and Bhavan under director Kamal. Her performance was appreciated and the movie was success at the box office. among the five main characters, one who scored the most was again Meerah. She got real attention in Malayalam cinema with the movie Kasthoorimann directed by her mentor Lohithadas. She was able to enact both comedy and sentimental scenes with equal fervor. She recived her first film fare award for her performance in Kasthoorimann. The film was also a success in box office running for 100 days. The same year, she acted in T V Chandhan's much acclaimed Paadham Onnu : Oru Vilapam. She played a 15-year-old Muslim girl who was forced to marry an older man. She not only recived state award, but also National Award for Best actress and many other awards beating many strong contenders like Aishwarya Rai and Sushmita sen. Then came another soul-stirring performance as Raziya in Perumazhakallam alongside Kavya Madhavan. In the movie 'Achuvinte Amma'(2005), she has enacted the young, adorable character Achu, with extraordinary ease that she seemed to live the character, instead of acting. She paired with Malayalam superstars-Mohanlal in 'Rasathantram' (2006) and recently with Mammootty in 'Ore Kadal' (2007). She won her second state award for Ore Kadal.

Tamil

Meera's Tamil film entry made her a well-known star in the South. The success of Tamil films Run and Bala in 2002 have given her the chance to work with popular actors of the Tamil industry. She won the Filmfare Best Female debut actress award for Run. The success of the films led her to work with famed directors like Mani Ratnam in Aayudha Ezhuthu and SS Stanley in Mercury Pookkal. Meerah has acted in more than ten Tamil films. Her recent Tamil film, Parattai Engira Azhagu Sundaram, with Dhanush as her male lead, was a colossal flop. In her film Nepali, where she was the love interest of Bharath also bombed badly. Meerah Jasmine is now paired against senior actor Vijayakant for his next film to be directed by Vikraman.

Telugu and Kannada

Meerah Jasmine became famous in Telugu film industry with her first film (dubbed from Tamil) "Run". She has not only showed her presence in the Telugu films in 2004 with Ammayi Bagundi and Gudumba Shankar but also entered Kannada cinema by co-starring with Puneet Rajkumar in Maurya. Her latest Kannada film Arrasu is also a hit. Meerah's biggest Telugu hit was Bhadra with Ravi Teja in the male lead. Her other Telugu films are Raraju, Maharadhi, Yamagola Malli Modalaindi, Gorintaku and upcoming film Maa Aayana Chantipilladu, in which she is paired for a second time with Sivaji.

Ramya - ರಮ್ಯಾ , Sandalwood, Wallpapers, Movies, Hot Pics

2008-10-13T06:33:00.000-07:00

Ramya - ರಮ್ಯಾ

Real Name: Divya Spandana

Born: 29th Nov 1981

Place of Birth: Bangalore,India

Occupation: Actress

Ramya is a number one popular actress in the Kannada film industry. Recently she has been acting in Tamil and Telugu cinemas as well.

Ramya studied at St.Hilda's school, in Ooty. She then earned her collegiate at St.Josephs College of Commerce, in Bangalore.

Born	Divya Spandana November 29, 1981 (age 26) Bangalore Karnataka, India
Other name(s)	Divya Spandana, Lucky Star, Kuthu Ramya
Occupation	Actress

Ramya stepped into the film industry with Kannada movie Abhi starring against Puneet Rajkumar.

The movie "Amruthadhare" shows her amazing acting in one of her recent films directed by Nagathihalli Chandrasekhar.

Ramya resides at The Taj West End in Bangalore, with her adopted father.

Ramya acted more than 15 films in kannada and she acted more than 5 films in Tamil

Movies are....

Kannda:

2008 -- Anthu Inthu Preethi Banthu, Bhimoos Bang Bang Kids, Jothegaara, Ullasa
2007 -- Meera Madhava Raghava , Arrasu
2006 -- Tananam Tananam , Jote Joteyali , Datta , Julie , Sevanthi Sevanthi
2005 -- Gowramma , Aakash , Amrithadhare , Aadi
2004 -- Ranga (S.S.L.C) , Kanti
2003 -- Abhi , Excuse Me

Tamil:

2003 - Kuthu - Silambarasan - A. Venkatesh
2004 - Giri - Arjun - Sundar
2007 - Thoondle - Shaam - K. S. Adhiyaman
2007 - Vaaranam Aayiram - Surya - Gautham Menon, Polladhavan
2008 - Vaaranam Ayiram
2009 - Drogi, Kaadhal 2 Kalyanam

Ileana D'Cruz,Tollywood Actress, Hot Pics , Wallpapers, Movies

2008-10-13T05:50:00.000-07:00

Ileana D'Cruz

Birth name: Ileana D'Cruz

Ileana D'Cruz
Born	August 19, 1987 (age 21) Mumbai Maharashrtra India
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2006-present

Born: August 19, 1987 (1987-08-19) Mumbai, India

Family: three sisters and two brothers.

Ileana beautiful and cute girl from mumbai, she currently resides in goa. Before come to films, Ileana was modelling for quite some time and doing ads. She has three sisters and two brothers.

Ileana first film telugu Devadasu in 2006 directed by Y.V.S. Chowdhary and her second Telugu film where she essayed the role of Shruti, an innocent girl haunted by a corrupt police officer opposite Prince Mahesh Babu in the blockbuster Pokiri.

Director Y.V.S chowdary saw her first on Fair and Lovely add and selected her for his Film “Devdas”. After pokiri Ileana is in the Ranking of top most celebs of the Tollywood industry.

Ileana is presently doing a movie with Pawan Kalyan under the direction of Trivikram Srinivas and produced by Allu Arvind under Geetha Arts banner. the movie will be shooted with Panorama camera which is highly oriented one and its first time to use in the Indian films.

Ileana acted in more than 8 movies. Movies are Devadasu, Pokiri, Kedi, Khatarnak, Rakhi, Munna, Aata and in Untitled Trivikram Srinivas Project.

Charmy Kaur, Tollywood Actress, Hot pics

2008-10-13T05:12:00.000-07:00

Charmy Kaur

Name: Charmy Kaur

Born: May 17, 1988 Punjab, India

The Sexy tollywood actress Charami acted with almomst all top actors in the Tollywood and kollywood. ( Simbu, Venkatesh, Akkineni Nagarjuna, Prabhas, Siddarth, Ravi Teja, Sumanth, Nitin, and Jr.NTR.)

Charmi career in the film industry was started when she was of 14 years old. Her 1st film is “Neethodu kavali” which gave her big flop. After her 4 flops she acted with a good spirit and “Gowri” made a blockbuster. This movie was charmi’s first hit in the Tollywood industry. Later on charmi acted in “Mass” with Nagarjuna and it became a big hit.

She acted in her first film, Nee Thodu Kaavali (released March 2002) where she acted as a house wife. This film was a big flop, but helped Charmme get noticed by the south Indian film industry. Her next film was Kadal Azhavathillai with Silambarasan which was also flopped. During this time she acted in a malayalam film directed by vinayan named "Kattuchembakam". This film also bombed in box office. hero was jayasurya. After that she acted in a couple more Tamil films but they bombed at the box office.

Her re-entry to Telugu movies happened with Sri Anjaneyam directed by ace director Krishna Vamsi. This too was a failed attempt. It was followed by another failure with Chanti, paired against Ravi Teja. She finally got a big break in Telugu with Gowri in which she paired with Sumanth. She didn't have to look back afterwards. The stupendous success of Mass with Nagarjuna strengthened her position in Tollywood.

Charmme's most indistinguishable and critically acclaimed film so far is Anukokunda Oka Raju. It was a heroine-oriented thriller and had her playing the lead in it. Her performance in the movie was acclaimed by critics.

Recent Movies Are..

Telugu

Kausalya Supraja Rama (2008) ...
16 days (2008) ...
Michael Madana Kamaraju (2008) ...
Bhale Dongalu (2008) ... Sizzling Item Song with Tarun
Sundarakanda (2008) ... Pinky
Mantra (2007) ... Mantra
Rakhi (2006) ... Gowri
Chinnodu (2006) ...
Pournami (2006) ... Chandrakala
Style (2006) ...
Lakshmi (2006) ... Sailaja
Chukkallo Chandrudu (2006) ... Sandhya
Allari Pidugu (2005) ...
Political Rowdy (2005) ... Kaveri
Anukokunda Oka Roju (2005) ... Sahasra
Chakram (2005) ... Lakshmi
Mass (2004) ... Priya
Chanti (2004) ...
Gowri (2004) ... Sweta
Sri Anjaneyam (2004)....Padmavathi alias Padhu
Neeke Manasichchaanu (2003)
Nee Thodu Kaavali (2002) ... Manasa

Tamil

Malayalam

Kaattu Chempakam (2002)

Kannada

Lavakusha (2007)

Ramya krishna, Tollywood Actress,Wallpapers,Hot Pics

2008-10-13T05:01:00.000-07:00

Ramya krishna

Born: September 15, 1967 in Madras Tamil(Iyer) Brahmin family .

Life partner: Telugu film director Krishna Vamsi on June 12, 2003 and has since then settled in Hyderabad.

Son: Ritwik on February 13, 2005.

Ramya krishna one of the sexy actress in india and she acted in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi languages. She has over 200 films to her credit.

Ramya Krishna started her acting career at the age of 15 in Vellai Manasu in Tamil opposite Y.G.Mahendran.

Ramya krishna bagged two prestigious Nandi Awards from the Government of Andhra Pradesh, India and a National Award from the Indian Government as well.

Ramya krishna recent movies in all languages are.

Kannada : Raktha Kaneeru , Ekaangi , Andhra Hendathi , Baa Baaro Rasika and NEELABARI

Hindi: Criminal (1995) , Parampara (1993) and Khal Nayak (1993)

Malayalam: Maanyanmar , Kathanayika , Mahatma , Neram Pularumbol , Orkapurathu and Anuragi .

Tamil: Whistle , Kaakha Kaakha , Kurumbu , Vanamay Illai , Sigaram , Paarai , Kutrapatthirikkai and Baba .

Telugu: Ahwaanam , Hello Brother , Brundavanam , Chinnabbaayi , Bala Rama Krishnulu , Bangaru Bullodu and Chakravarthy.

Rambha , Wallpapers, Tollywood Actress, Hot Pics

2008-10-13T04:50:00.000-07:00

Rambha

Real Name: Vijaya Lakshmi

Known as: Vijaya Lakshmi, Amritha, Rambha

Born: 1971 Vijayawada, Andra Pradesh, India

height: 5'4

Rambha famous actress of south india born on june 5th 1975 in Andhra pradseh a telugu state of india.Her real name was Vijaya lakshmi but it was changed to Rambha after her first screen name amritha.In india producers believe in names sometimes movie names are often changed before release. I wounder ..! can these help...?

Rambha's career started with a Telugu film "Aa Okkati Adakku" directed by E.V.V Sathyanarayana in 1993.In 1992 starred in Malayalam film Sargam opposite Vineeth.

Rambha has acted in all significant languages of india.She has got many successful movies in some of the major south indian languages like tamil telugu

kannada and more often in bollywood movies.

She has acted with famous actors of both south indian and whole india. She has acted with rajnikanth, salman khan and chiranjeevi and many more stars down south.

Some of the movies Rambha has acted in are pyar deewana hot hai ,judwa and beti number one in hindi and in hitler alex siddharta down south.

Rambha has got a fine stature and a gorgeous face which seems beautiful from her smile that can be often seen with kids.She has got a century of movies and still doing.She is aged more than 30+ and still seems younger.

All bollywood actresses are more interested in keeping their bodies slimmer but i wounder how rambha seems cute even at 32 without any special effort like bollywood actresses who do gym work daily.

Rambha has got light brown eyes and stature of height 5'4" and can speak major south indian languages along with hindi and english.

Rambha is a big fan of chiranjeevi ,the mega star of andhra pradesh telugu movie land.

She has acted with him too.She made appearance on screen with chiranjeevi in hitler.

Rambha Films in Hindi(Bollywood)

2007 -Mastana
2004 -Dukaan: Pila House
2002 - Jaani Dushman: Ek Anokhi Kahani
2002 -Pyaar Diwana Hota Ha
2000 - Krodh
2000 - Beti.No.1
2000 - Dil Hi Dil Mein
1995 Jallad

Rambha Malayalam films

2007 - Paayum Puli
2005 - Kochi Rajavu
2004 - Mayilattam
2003 - Chronic Bachelor
1998 - Siddhartha
1992 - Sargam

Rambha Telugu films

2007 - Desamuduru
2006 - Alex
2003 - Sriramachandrulu
1998 - Bavagaru Bagunnara
1997 - Hitler
1995 - Alluda Mazaaka

Rambha Tamil films

2005 -Sukran
2003 - Three Roses
2003 - Banda Paramashivam
1999 - Unakkaga Ellam Unakkaga
1993 - Uzhavan

Rambha Kannada films

Nanu Nanna Henhdathiru

Genelia D'Souza Bio, Wallpapers, Hot Pics, Movies

2008-10-13T03:57:00.000-07:00

Genelia D'Souza

Birth name: Genelia D'Souza

Born: August 05, 1987 (1987-08-05) (age 20) England

Other name: Jeenu, Harini

Genelia is a young , beautyful actress in India. She acted in Tamil, Telugu, hindi and Kannada film industry.

Genelia studied at Apostolic Carmel High School in Bandra, Mumbai. After school, she joined the St. Andrews College, Bandra to pursue a Bachelor's Degree.

Genelia D'Souza
Born	August 5, 1987 (age 21) Mumbai Maharashtra , India
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2003—present

Genelia starred in the big budgeted Boys by top director

Shankar with opposite Siddarth. she is know in Tollywood industry after

coming from kollywood and she give some good telugu movies like Satyam, Masti, Samba , Sye and Bommarillu.

Genelia is just 19 as of now and turning 20 only after two months. She is now claming a good remuneration of Rs 30 lakhs.

Now Genelia is doing a Hindi film beside Emraan Hashmi. Abbas Tyewala is directing the film while AR Rehman is scoring music. This is third Hindi film for Genelia. She started working in Hindi with 'Tujhe Mere Kasam".

Genelia D'Souza movies are...

kannada : Sathya In Love (Co-star : Shivarajkumar)

Hindi: Tujhe Meri Kasam, Masti and Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na.

Tamil: Boys, Sachein, Chennai Kadhal, Vaaranam Aayiram, Santosh Subramaniam.

Telugu: Mr. Medhavi, Dhee, Bommarillu, Raam, Happy, Naa Alludu and more..

Namitha Kapoor Bio, Wallpapers, Hot Pics,Tamil Actress

2008-10-13T02:54:00.000-07:00

Namitha Kapoor

Real Name Namita M Vankawala

Born May 10, 1979 (age 29)

Namitha Kapoor (Kannada : ನಮಿತ , Tamil : நமிதா கபூர்) is a popular South Indian actress.

She was born on October 1986 in Cithukadu, India. Real name Namita M Vankawala, studied at Ratnam Arts College, Surat. Her father is a businessman and her mother is a housewife. She became popular after acting in the Tamil film Engal Anna with Vijaykanth.

Trisha Krishnan Biography,Wallpapers,Movies,Hot Pics

2008-10-13T02:14:00.000-07:00

Born	Trisha Krishnamurthy May 4, 1983 (age 25) Palakkad, Kerala (India)
Other name(s)	Trisha

Trisha Krishnan

Trisha Krishnan, born on 4 May 1983 as Trisha Krishnamurthy (Tamil : த்ரிஷா கிருஷ்ணமூர்தி) is a prominent actress in both Tamil and Telugu film industries. She rose to fame with her roles in Tamil movies, Saamy and Ghilli.

Born to Krishnan and Uma Krishnan, in Palakkad , the Tamil Iyer actress got her higher education in Ethiraj College, Chennai. Later, she modelled and won Miss Salem in 1999, Miss Chennai in 1999 and Miss India Miss Beautiful Smile in 2001. In school, she participated in several cultural activities, sports and school band. She studied at Sacred Heart Church Park School, in Madras, which happens to be the same school where former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalitha studied.

She started her career as a model, appearing in many TV advertisements including that of Fair and Lovely and Josco Jeweller. She also starred in Falguni Pathak's music album Meri Chunar Ud Ud Jaye.

Dr.Rajkumar Lost Journey Photo Gallery

2008-10-12T06:57:00.000-07:00

Dr.Rajkumar Photo Gallery 1

2008-09-23T16:29:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer

2008-09-23T16:01:00.000-07:00

Any material downloaded or otherwise obtained through the use of the service is done at your own discretion and risk and that you will be solely responsible for any damage to your computer system or loss of data that results from the download of any such material.

The indian-songs-movies.blogspot.com makes sure that the links of the content in the web-blog is not its source and it just provides the links to others servers. Hence it states that the source servers and the downloaders of the link are solely responsible for the entire legal prosecution but not indian-songs-movies.blogspot.com.

Finally the indian-songs-movies.blogspot.com recommends the downloaders to delete the downloads within 24 hours from the download time.
If you don't agree with any of our disclaimers above please do not read the material on any of our pages and leave the site right now.

veerappan - Series 1

2008-09-23T15:17:00.000-07:00

'Anyone who tries to destroy me will be destroyed!'

Veerappan wanted out.

It was October 1997. The bandit, poacher and sandalwood smuggler had a reward of Rs 4 million on his head. He wanted to surrender.
He believed the only way he could get amnesty was by holding government employees at ransom. That, he thought, would bring the authorities to their knees.
One evening, he and his men entered the Bandipur forests. They stopped outside a house in Melkamanahalli village, adjacent to the Bandipur reserve.
Veerappan knew that two men lived there. They were all the time walking in the forests. Maybe they were senior government officials. The bandit entered the house and Senani, one of the inmates, felt the cold metal of a gun barrel on his stomach...
Senani, who was kidnapped by Veerappan, is one of the few who can provide an insight into the complicated psychological profile of India's most-wanted bandit.

Senani hates talking about the incident. But in Mysore, he slowly opened up to Roving Editor Ramesh Menon, who also met others abducted by Veerappan to thread together this account.

It was one of those wonderful, quiet evenings. The stillness of the forest was soothing. Senani had just finished his bath. He felt good.

It was getting dark and the door was wide open. From the corner of his eye, he saw something moving outside. Must have been his imagination, he decided. After dusk, no one ever visited them.

Senani asked loudly if there was anyone outside. Before he knew it, he felt the cold barrel of a gun. He sucked in his breath and said: "Oh, Veerappan?"

There was a glint in the bandit's eye. "How do you know?" he asked.

"The world knows you," Senani replied.

The bandit looked happy. There was an unmistakable smile on his face. Veerappan sincerely believed he was a superhuman. Also that he was highly respected, as everyone bowed and cringed before him.

Wildlife photographers Senani and Krupakar stayed together. Krupakar, who came out of the bathroom at that moment, saw armed men. He kept his cool and offered to make Veerappan some tea.

The bandit was taken aback. He snapped at Krupakar, asking him if he realised that he was about to be kidnapped.

Krupakar did not bat an eyelid. "That is fine, but why should that stop us from having tea?"

Nothing doing, responded the bandit. Krupakar persisted. He behaved as if the bandits were his guests.

"Come on, let us at least have some tea."

Veerappan thought for a few seconds and said okay.

Three gunmen followed Krupakar into the kitchen. They feared he would run away or raise the alarm.

Krupakar lit the gas stove with a lighter. The gunmen reacted as if they had seen a miracle.

They were so fascinated with the lighter that they called out to Veerappan. Krupakar was asked to light the stove again while Veerappan watched fascinated: a spark and a silent flame!

After tea, Veerappan asked them their salary. They said they received no salary. He thought they were lying. He was trying to find out if they were important enough to be kidnapped. They tried to explain that all they did were take wildlife pictures.

Veerappan did not believe that. Why would anyone want to take pictures of wild animals?

Senani and Krupakar tried to explain their passion for wildlife. Veerappan could not understand that. He thought they were trying to mislead him, that they were actually government officers. After all, they were always in the forests. They lived there. They seemed to know everyone.

AS darkness fell, they put on the lights. Veerappan wanted to know how they had electricity. The photographers told him about solar energy. Veerappan was completely fascinated.

The gunmen, meanwhile, were virtually ransacking the house. They were looking for something that would indicate that the two were government officers. But they only found scores of books on wildlife.

Veerappan and his gang found the books interesting. They kept leafing though the pages. Seeing the picture of an African elephant, Veerappan wanted to know how much its tusks would weigh.

Senani answered: you should know that better than us.

Suddenly, beetles started coming through the window. The gunmen crushed them under their boots. The photographers did not like that. They asked them not to kill the insects. After all, when one takes wildlife pictures for so many years, one's attitude towards life changes.

One of the gang became angry on being told what to do. He rushed to Veerappan and complained against Senani.. Why should not insects be killed, they asked.

Senani told Veerappan that the solution was to close the windows. Veerappan said a resounding no to that. He hated closed spaces. Maybe it was because he lived in the open all the time.

It was past 2130 hours IST. Veerappan asked them to lead him to the house of the district forest officer or any of 'their other senior officers'. He said they should announce their names before, so that they would open the door.

The photographers declined. They said they never walked the forests in the night and would definitely get lost. Veerappan ordered them again. They repeated their argument.

Veerappan took them out into the forests. That night they stayed in the open. As dawn broke, Veerappan and his men hid near a culvert near the Bandipur forest lodges. He knew that at around 0800 hours everyday, a forest department bus would come that way carrying tourists on a jungle safari.

The bus came trundling along the dirt track. The tourists were looking out. Suddenly, driver Sebastian hit the brakes. He could not believe what he saw.

Standing in front was Veerappan with a gun. Within seconds, other gunmen materialised all around. Sebastian was asked to get out.

Veerappan asked Senani to interview every tourist. He wanted to separate the big fish, take them hostage and let the others go. He wanted some top government functionary to bargain for his amnesty.

Senani started talking to the tourists one by one. Senani did not look serious. So Veerappan sidled up to him and whispered that he must look pained and serious. To make it look like he meant business, he told Senani politely that he should let a gunman hold a chain attached to his handcuff. Just for effect.

Senani soon told Veerappan that none of the tourists were high profile and they should just be allowed to go. Veerappan did not like that one bit. He told Senani that he had been very unlucky this trip; he had got not even a single person worth kidnapping.

Suddenly they heard another vehicle coming up. Everyone hid behind the foliage. It was another forest department vehicle. A group of drivers and forest department employees had come to investigate why the safari had not returned.

Veerapan and his gang surprised them. Remembered Prakash, one of the drivers: "It was really frightening. I froze. For the first time, I had a gun pointing at me."

Veerappan asked Joseph Moven, another forest department driver, to go back to the district forest officer and tell him that a tiger had died and bring him to the spot. Joseph said that he was too nervous to journey back alone.

Veerappan wanted to know whom he would like to take back with him. He asked for Abdul Mujib. Veerappan called out Mujib's name. Thinking he was being singled out for release, Mujib ran to him.

Veerappan was emphatic: "Both of you go back and get the DFO here. You have exactly 10 minutes to do so. If you do not bring the DFO here, everyone will be shot dead."

As Veerappan spoke, Sethukuli Govindan, his second-in-command, had a gun pointed at Mujib's back.

Both of them drove to Rajgopal, the DFO. They told him what had happened and that Veerappan wanted them to lie to him about the tiger's death. Rajgopal immediately drove to nearby Gundalpet to phone senior officials.

In the forest, Veerappan waited for 45 minutes. He then chose some hostages and left. Among them were Krupakar, Senani, a horticulture scientist, N Mythi, and a few forest employees. One of them, Krishna, was a driver.

Actually, Veerappan had just missed a prize catch. Sitting at the Bandipur reserve were some senior government officers, waiting for an excursion into the forests. But the bus had been detained.

Among them were Harshavardhan Raju, the deputy inspector general, Upendra, the circle inspector, Rajgopal, Thimaygowda, the assistant director of Bandipur, and Rajanna, the range forest officer.

A long time after Veerappan left with the hostages, a battalion of the Karnataka State Reserve Police reached the spot.

Mujib had escaped the kidnap drama. But he felt miserable. He kept seeing all kinds of horrible scenarios dancing before his eyes.

He told rediff.com: "I wondered whether I would ever see my colleagues again. I spent sleepless nights thinking of them."

For a few hours, Veerappan and the hostages trekked. Some eight to 10 kilometres away, they set up camp.

Krupakar and Senani were cool. They were used to the forests. This seemed like another day. The only difference was that there were gunmen guarding them.

Veerappan spent many hours talking to them. He was fascinated with their knowledge of wildlife. Once a snake came into the clearing. The gunmen killed it.

Senani and Krupakar did not like that at all. Senani told them that most snakes were non-poisonous. Their captors wanted to know how to differentiate between them. Senani drew pictures of various snakes. They were spellbound.

Krupakar and Senani tried to drive home that violence would not help Veerappan. That terrorism was losing out all over the world.

Veerappan listened but swerved into his brand of logic: "When foresters and policemen want to kill me, why should I not kill them? Anyone who tries to destroy me will be destroyed by me."

His logic went thus: He had only killed around 150 people. The police, on the other hand, had killed nearly 200 people while hunting him. So it was quits now, and the government must give him amnesty.

Veerappan loved to talk about his exploits. He liked to detail his murders, how he killed policemen and forest officials. It was almost as if he was obsessed with those killings. In all the conversations, he glorified himself.

He saw himself always in the right. He believed he was a great personality whom the world knew and admired, and that he was one of the most popular figures in India. He told the hostages that he could even win an election hands down in Salem and Dharampuri.

SENANI and Krupakar, for their part, tried to draw him out gently and get him talking about wildlife. They tried to make the most of Veerappan's experiences in the forests. His observations were sharp, his narration clear and interesting.

"He had the unusual knack of description that great writers have," said Senani, who still remembers the way Veerappan described how a leopard hunted a monkey.

Pieced from Senani's memory, this is how Veerappan went about it: "I was sitting on a stump, just watching the forest before me. There were langurs playing around. Suddenly, I saw a slight movement. It was a leopard. Here it was just now and then it was gone. The leopard was sticking to the ground. The grass made the animal invisible. All I could see was the tail.

"The langurs sensed the leopard. An alarm call went out. A little one ran and clutched its mother. The mother also gave out an alarm call. Silence. One monkey was scratching his armpit. Was the crisis over?

Suddenly, the leopard, a ball of flesh, flew out of the grass. It closed its teeth on a langur and disappeared. Another series of alarm calls rang through the forests..."

The gang hunted for meat. If there were leftovers, they dried it. Usually, they ate rice and sambhar. But the dal soon got over. So they had to content with rice and water mixed with sambhar powder.

Veerappan asked Krupakar and Senani whether they ate monkey meat. The photographers said no. Senani told Veerappan that they would not allow a monkey to be killed for them.

"You people go on feeding a lamb," Veerappan said, "and after you fatten it, you go and kill it. But here you will not allow us to shoot a monkey!"

The other hostages, however, had no such qualms. Veerappan mimicked the call of the monkeys. When they came, his men shot them. And so it went, till the bandit released the hostages.

Three years down the line, Senani observed: "His expert insights into animal behaviour is what has ensured his survival in the forest."

Source : rediff.com

Veerappan - Series 2

2008-09-23T15:05:00.000-07:00

'Many people have used Veerappan to make money'

Koose Muniswamy Veerappan is no strapping young lad. Police records say he was easily over 50.Roving Editor Ramesh Menon travelled the Veerappan land, interacting with villagers, government officers and the police, to find the answer. A major drawback in the hunt, he found, is that the intelligence sources of the police have dried up. The local people nurse deep mental wounds that have been festering for years because of police oppression. They see Veerappan in a favourable light.

"At least, he does not hurt us," they say.

Welcome to the costliest manhunt in Indian history.

The battle to nab Veerappan is 13 years old. It has cost the governments of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over 12 million rupees. One hundred and nineteen people have been killed, and scores injured in the process. Over 500 policemen from the two states have been on the job all these years.

As things stand, it appears they will never catch Veerappan. And now since he has nurtured such an ostentatious image of himself, he is unlikely to surrender.

He says he cannot surrender because he has to take care of "a movement". With visions of being a champion of the Tamil cause, Veerappan now considers himself larger than life.

Senani, a wildlife photographer whom Veerappan kept in captivity for 14 days, told rediff.com: "Veerappan believes that he is feared by the police and respected by the people. He sees people cringing before him. No one looks him in the eye. He feels he can even win an election and be a major political figure."

The abduction of Rajakumar, the Kannada film icon, has reinforced this feeling.

Karnataka State Reserve Police Inspector General Shankar Mahadev Bidari feels it is the terrain he operates in that is Veerappan's best protector. Mostly it is thick forests. Heights help him see police movement, the locals are with him, and in most areas there are no motorable roads.

Plus, the area is enormous: around 6,000 square kilometres. For Veerappan, who knows the forests like the back of his hand, it is easy to avoid the police: when combing operations are on in one area, Veerappan just moves into another.

IN 1986, Veerappan was arrested in Bangalore.

He had come to buy ammunition and had quarrelled with the dealer, who informed the police. They tracked him down to a restaurant. He was enjoying his favourite dish: fried pork.

Veerappan was taken to Chamrajnagar for interrogation. Handcuffed, he was kept in the Budhipadka forest guesthouse.

But Veerappan escaped. Sources say he paid a bribe of Rs 50,000. In an interview to rediff.com, Director General of Karnataka Police C Dinakar admitted as much.

The tragedy, he said, was that nothing was done to punish the official responsible for the escape.

The Special Task Force constituted to hunt Veerappan did reduce his gang from around 150 to five. Now that some Tamil militants have joined him, the gang has about nine members.

Most of the 119 people whom Veerappan has killed are policemen and informers. He has cut sandalwood trees in the forests of Satyamangalam and MM Hills worth millions of rupees. The police claim that Veerappan has poached 2,000 elephants. But that may not be true as other gangs too operated in the area.

Today, two state governments are on their knees before the bandit. When he dictates terms, they have to listen. Is he so invincible?

Not quite. Officials like Dinakar say it is possible to arrest him if there is "political will" and good officers are deputed for the job. The joint operation by the two southern states could have accomplished the task. Unfortunately, the STF suffered from ego hassles and co-ordination problems. Most times, they pulled in different directions. Intelligence was not shared.

The money involved -- Veerappan and his gang carry millions for their heads -- was another reason. Many officers wanted that glory to be theirs personally. And it showed.

There was no political will to arrest the bandit either. Officials of the Karnataka police say that Tamil Nadu seemed to have a soft spot for Veerappan. Political manipulation further demoralised the force. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi reportedly even got a house with modern facilities ready in Maduranthakam, 49 km from Madras, for Veerappan to stay if he surrendered.

Political observers in Madras say the STF has been dormant after Karunanidhi came into power. A senior Tamil Nadu police official told rediff.com:

"The STF did not even make him panicky in the last three years. There was just no leadership or political will to catch him. Senior police officers sent their subordinates and did not lead from the front. A wrong message went all the way below."

A government source in Tamil Nadu said, "Veerappan cannot exist without a pipeline to sustain him. If you have powerful politicians and bureaucrats backing him, he can never be caught. Many people have used Veerappan all these years to make money both in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu."

This is a common perception. The man on the street feels that successive governments have shielded Veerappan and ensured his steady growth.

Asks Sethuram, a Bangalore resident, "Why has the media not unearthed this story till today? Crores of rupees have been laundered in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu by those who benefited from Veerappan."

Intelligence officials had the names of politicians who were helping Veerappan, but nothing was done to discourage them.

Frustrated at not getting Veerappan, the STF resorted to strong-arm tactics. This alienated the local populace that lives on the edge of the forest in little villages. In so-called search operations, they were harassed, beaten up, tortured, and their houses burnt.

As one villager in Thalvadi in Tamil Nadu, points out, "Our women were never safe. If they ever went unescorted into the forest, they would be humiliated or molested."

In villages like Nallur in Karnataka, there are a great many stories of STF oppression. The STF has not been to the village for many months now. That is only because the villagers finally put their foot down when a minor girl was raped by a police officer. She was carrying lunch to her parents who worked in the fields when the officer raped her.

The villagers staged a dharna and senior STF officials rushed to the spot. They promised to take action. But all they did was transfer the officer.

The villagers did launch a first information report against him at the Ramapuram police station, but nothing came of it. The villagers took the girl to many doctors to get a medical confirmation of the rape, but they refused.

And today, R Rachaiah, sub-inspector at the Ramapuram police station, says he does not have the FIR or any relevant papers with him.

source : rediff.com

Veerappan - Series 3

2008-09-23T14:57:00.000-07:00

Rajkumar Abduction

What must Kannada film icon Rajakumar have thought when he saw forest bandit Veerappan walk into his living room at the Gajanur farmhouse?

One guess could be that he remembered what intelligence officers had been telling him for a long time: that he needed police protection.
Intelligence officials knew that Rajakumar topped Veerappan's list of targets. The Karnataka police had offered him protection, but the actor had refused it. He did take protection once, but later wanted it discontinued.
Superintendent of Police, Intelligence, Maheshwaran, who is based in Bangalore, personally went to Rajakumar many times to convince him.

Rajakumar just laughed it off. He is supposed to have said that a simple man with just a dhoti and kurta was not likely to be kidnapped. Rajakumar loved his privacy too much.

Both the Tamil Nadu and Karnataka police had requested the actor to inform them when he was going to his farmhouse in Gajanur in Tamil Nadu, which is on the edge of the forests that Veerappan operates from. But he did not let them know.

Rajakumar had just built a palatial farmhouse at an estimated cost of over Rs 8 million. It overlooks green fields and the forests Veerappan has been operating from. He had just finished the grihapravesham [inauguration ceremony] of the house, but had not started staying in it. He was still staying in a simple congested little house opposite.

The little house is typical, with tiled slanting roofs, a little courtyard with gunny bags full of paddy and a weighing scale. It definitely does not look like the house of Karnataka's leading film icon and Dadasaheb Phalke award winner.

Roving Editor Ramesh Menon visited the deserted farmhouse and talked to Gopal, Rajakumar's nephew, in charge of the property. Here is Gopal's first person account of the kidnap:

IT was around 9 pm [2100 hours IST]. I was hungry and went to the back of the house that has a dining room area. Rajakumar had already finished dinner and was relaxing in the living room watching television.

Suddenly, my 13-year-old daughter Pallavi burst in crying. She said her grandfather was being taken away. I could not figure out what it meant for the first few seconds.

Not even in my wildest imagination had I thought that one day this would happen to us. Look at our house. Look at our living room. Our lives cannot be simpler. We all sit on the floor all the time. Rajakumar used to sleep on the floor on a simple grass mat. He liked this life.

That new house opposite looks like a palace all right, but Rajakumar felt very happy here.

I rushed towards the living room. I could not believe what I saw. Veerappan stood there with a gun. There were around nine of them. All of them were in light green battle dress. All had guns.

There were five others with guns who were standing guard outside. So that no one would raise the alarm.

Rajakumar and his wife, Parvathamma, were sitting on the floor. Veerappan pointed his gun at Rajakumar. As he stood up, one of his aides tied his hands.

Rajakumar was cool. There was not even a sign of panic on his face. He said he would go with Veerappan and nothing would happen to him. In fact, he was trying to reassure us.

Parvathamma was not crying. She was too stunned to react.

Veerappan was treating everyone with respect. He did not misbehave or use any threatening tone. He just said: Do not shout, or else I will shoot. So we all kept quiet. It was absolutely silent.

Veerappan handed a cassette to Parvathamma. He politely said it should be given to Chief Minister S M Krishna. It had his demands. If they were met, he would release Krishnakumar, he said.

Then, they all took Rajakumar, Govindraju, his son-in-law, Nagesh, his cousin brother's son and Nagappa, an assistant director.

Outside, Veerappan's armed men had held Nagaraj, a schoolteacher. But he was allowed to go when Rajakumar said he was a diabetic. Ravi, a driver of Rajakumar, was also let off.

We were all very shocked. All were numb with fear.

After about 15 or 20 minutes, Parvathamma left for Bangalore in a car with the cassette.

She did not speak at all.

At 2 am [0200 hours], she reached Bangalore and handed over the cassette to Krishna. The chief minister must have been shocked too. He called an emergency meeting. By 7 am [0700 hours], the news was on television. The police reached here by 8.30 am [0830 hours] to make inquiries.

It is a fact that Rajakumar said no to security. On one occasion, he had agreed to it when he came here, but later said no. He came here to feel free. Security would have restricted his feeling of freedom.

Rajakumar built this house in Gajanur as he loved this place. He was born in a house nearby. Everything that his mother owned was very, very close to him.

He had strong roots here. He wanted to spend the rest of his life here. In peace. He loved to farm and had great plans of cultivating everything he could. I thought I would be very busy with lots of new work, new farms, new challenges. Now, I do not feel like doing anything.

We had just got the auspicious grihapravesham ceremony done for the new house. But Rajakumar wanted to move in after it had been furnished. In fact, he had come here not just to see his new house, but to supervise how fruit and paddy were being developed in the new areas brought under cultivation.

None of us could ever imagine such a thing would happen. Veerappan had become so quiet. There was no movement or news of Veerappan for so many months.

Rajakumar was very dear to the people of Karnataka. I knew that people loved him. But now, I know what he means to common people. Hundreds of poor people pool in money to hire vehicles to come here. Just to see this house. Just to set foot in this humble house. They are mostly silent. It is their way of telling us that they care and they are also hurt. They spend a few minutes here and then go back, sad and depressed.

Veerappan - series 4

2008-09-23T14:48:00.001-07:00

'I aimed at his head and hit it with the first shot'

On August 14, 1992, preparations to celebrate Independence Day were in full swing at various police outposts bordering the forests in Karnataka.

Two officers, however, were plotting something different. They would travel into the forests, pretending to be ivory merchants. They had a rendezvous with Veerappan's brother and trusted aide, Arjunan.
They hoped to trap him. And thus paralyse Veerappan.

Roving Editor Ramesh Menon, who travelled to Kollegal, one of the areas where Veerappan poached elephants, spoke to eyewitnesses to put together this account.

VEERAPPAN'S victims were initially elephants and rival poachers. When he started poaching, there were three other gangs operating in the contiguous forests of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Veerappan did not want a rival. He wanted to be the only one. Methodically, he destroyed his rivals, either eliminating them or forcing them to flee. Rumour has it that he invited rival gang members for a meal and shot them dead.

But after the Bangalore police arrested him in 1986, he saw the police as his new enemy. Anyone in uniform became a target.

Soon, he ambushed a Karnataka police party, killing three sub-inspectors and a constable in MM Hills. He also started raiding police stations with impunity, killing and decamping with arms.

It was then that the police woke up. It wasn't as if they had not known about Veerappan. But they saw him as a problem of the forest department, not law-and-order. But now, Veerappan became their enemy number one. And the Special Task Force was set up in April 1990.

The STF, which comprised policemen from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, was, in the beginning, quite charged up. It succeeded in eliminating some of Veerappan's men.

Veerappan retaliated by attacking police stations.

Superintendent Harikrishna and Sub-Inspector Shakeel Ahmed formed a good team. Both were determined to get Veerappan.

In fact, Shakeel had told his parents in Mysore that he would consider getting married only after his task was over. Shakeel's father, Abdul Karim, a retired police officer, liked his son's spirit and adventurous ways.

After great perseverance, Shakeel managed to develop Kamalnayaka, a villager, as a principal informant on Veerappan's movements.

Veerappan, however, was quick to see the danger. He would have normally finished off a police informant as soon as he came to know of him. But here he struck a new plan.

He raided Kamalnayaka's house and took his family hostage. He kept them in a forest hideout and threatened to kill them.

Veerappan's brother, Arjunan, was wanted by the police. The bandit chief ordered Kamalnayaka to tell Harikrishna and Shakeel that Arjunan had 40 kilos of tusks and was desperate for a buyer. The buyer must come in a white Ambassador car, dressed in white.

Kamalanayaka did as he was told. He had no choice. He wanted his family to live.

Harikrishna and Shakeel bit the bait.

Posing as buyers, they drove into the forests with Kamalnayaka. This, they thought, would be a major victory.

Harikrishna and Shakeel were to be followed by a lorry with about 15 armed policemen in plainclothes. But they were told to keep at least 2km behind.

With an AK-47 on his lap, Harikrishna drove the car. When he reached a curve, he was forced to stop. There were some boulders on the road.

Veerappan aimed at Harikrishna.

The first shot shattered the SP's head.

Another bullet killed Shakeel, who was sitting next to him.

Recounting the incident, Veerappan told a newsmagazine: 'The SP just turned his head to one side to see the stones. I aimed at his head and hit it with the first shot. It shattered. He collapsed in a heap.'

Police officer B D Mandappa, who was following in the lorry, sensed trouble when he heard gunshots. He asked the driver to hurry.

When he reached the spot, he knew his worst fears had come true. Both the officers were lying in a pool of blood.

The forest had the silence of a graveyard. There seemed to be no one around.

When Veerappan and his men saw the vehicle, they thought it was just another lorry and hid in the foliage. But seeing 15 men with guns getting out to investigate, they understood it was the police.

Veerappan started firing. He was at a height and had the advantage.

Taking cover of the lorry, the police returned the fire.

From 1300 hours to 1355 hours IST, bullets flew all over the place. The forest road looked like a battlefield.

In those 55 minutes, seven died -- six policemen and Kamalanayaka.

None of Veerappan's men were killed. If Veerappan asked the officers to come in a white car, in white clothes, it was with good reason. He had wanted to identify his targets easily.

He was a good planner and strategist. With the help of Sethukuli Govindan, one of his most trusted aides, he had planned the ambush after considering every minute detail.

Veerappan was angry with Harikrishna for letting his men burn down some houses in Nallur, as the inmates were suspected of supplying ration to the bandit chief. He feared that if such terror continued, villagers would not keep his supply lines alive.

Mandappa survived the ambush with nine bullet injuries. Eight years after the incident, he continues to fight to nab the bandit. Two of Veerappan's bullets are still in his body.

Now the deputy superintendent of the Kollegal sub-division, Mandappa will not rest. Veerappan does not operate in the Kollegal area, but the police officer is taking no chances.

"Veerappan is very unpredictable," he says.

Source : rediff.com

Veerappan - Series 5

2008-09-23T14:14:00.000-07:00

'I kept his head as a souvenir'

It is not easy being a forester where Veerappan operates.

After the kidnap of Rajakumar, sources say the bandit chief has become more aggressive. According to them, he plans to target foresters who are trying to contain him. In the forest areas, there is fear.

Roving Editor Ramesh Menon pieces together how Veerappan murdered one of the best foresters in Karnataka.

Veerappan plans every murder.

Even as the police aggression kicked up by the many operations to capture Veerappan was destroying the lives of the villagers in the forest areas of Satyamangalam and MM Hills, the late 80s saw a forest officer with a different approach. He was P Srinivas, deputy conservator of forests.

Srinivas was in his 20s when he joined the Indian Forest Service. He loved the forest. It meant a lot to him. He was deeply committed to conservation.

Srinivas wanted to get the villagers to trust the authorities. People had been alienated from the forest department because of police operations to nab Veerappan. Many innocent villagers had got hurt.

His philosophy was simple: Forests can never be protected without the help of villagers.

He worked on befriending the villagers. He stayed in their houses. He listened to them. He tried to find solutions to their problems. He talked the language of conservation. He spoke of why elephants should be allowed to live in an ecosystem, why sandalwood trees should not be cut.

He even started living in Gopinatham, the village where Veerappan grew up.

He tried instilling in the villagers the principle of non-violence.

Srinivas got the kind of response he never thought he would get. That too, in Gopinatham. Villagers loved him. He was one officer who used the special funds sanctioned for operations against Veerappan for the villagers' benefit.

Srinivas saw his network grow. The police had alienated the villagers by oppression and fear. In the bargain, they destroyed their own local intelligence network.

But there seemed to be hope. Srinivas managed to get many aides of Veerappan to surrender.

Veerappan saw that Srinivas was winning over his supporters. The forester was also rapidly growing in stature and authority. He had to eliminate Srinivas.

Veerappan hatched a plan. He said he was also ready to surrender if Srinivas came unarmed.

Srinivas bit the bait and went into the forests.

This is how Veerappan described his meeting with Srinivas in an interview: "I wanted to see the blood gushing out of Srinivas' chest. I took out my gun before he knew what was happening and shot him. I then cut off his head and began hacking off his hands. These were the very hands that wanted to turn machineguns on me. I kept his head as a souvenir."

Strangely, Srinivas got little official support from the Special Task Force.

The police did not like his methods. They had reportedly even spread rumours that he was having an affair with Veerappan's sister in Gopinatham. Unable to bear the stigma kicked up by such talk, she committed suicide.

Srinivas was in his early 30s when he died. With him died the hope of turning the locals against Veerappan.

Even today, the murder of Srinivas haunts the foresters of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

After Rajakumar's kidnapping, the Tamil Nadu government has even indirectly conveyed to its forest staff not to venture into the forest.

There could not have been a softer option.

source : rediff.com

Death and aftermath

2008-09-23T12:30:00.000-07:00

Dr. Rajkumar died at his home in Sadashivanagar, Bangalore, on April 12 2006(13.45 IST) following a cardiac arrest. He had a history of heart-related problems and had been admitted to Wockhardt Hospital for treatment of unstable angina. His health had been a concern after the kidnapping and since the death of his brother S.P. Varadaraju.Due to his larger-than-life image, the city virtually came to a halt as the news spread about the death. His death precipitated a city-wide reaction comparable to the time he was kidnapped by Veerappan. Following the news of his death, there were major unrest in Bangalore city mainly due to lack of immediate arrangements for fans to get accurate news and facilities to see the body. The than Chief Minister H.D.Kumaraswamy later claimed that the violence was instigated by vested political interests however opposition blamed on lack timely arragments by responsible organizations. An unofficial bandh (closure of all shops and other establishments) was announced.

More than 100 vehicles were burnt; eight people were killed in police firing. Footage of the riots were included in an episode of the American show,30 days. The show was filming an episode about outsourcing and ended up in the middle of the riots when Chris (the subject of the episode) had to commute home from his job. The state government declared a state-wide holiday on April 13 as a mark of respect to the former actor. Private firms and businesses all over the city and many parts of the state remained closed due to the holiday.

His body was first kept at his home in Sadashivanagar. However, due to immense crowd pressure, the body was moved initially to Palace Grounds and then later to the Kanteerava stadium. He was laid to rest in Kanteerava studio in Bangalore on April 13 2006.

source : wikipedia

Lost Journey :

108 Days Vanavaasa With Veerappan

2008-09-23T11:07:00.000-07:00

On July 30, 2000, at the age of 72, Rajkumar, his son-in-law Govindaraju and two others were kidnapped from the actor's palatial house at Gajanur in Tamil Nadu by the bandit Veerappan. Veerappan was demanding the release of his gang members who were being held in jail under a defunct anti-terrorism law. The event prompted a massive manhunt and threw the Karnataka government into crisis. Rajkumar was released unharmed on November 15 2000, after 108 days of captivity. His kidnapping and the manner in which his release were secured are a mystery to this day.

Quick Recap Of 108 Days :

July 30, 9.30 pm –Gajanur village near Talawadi – Dr.Rajkumar sitting on the floor after finishing the dinner and watching the Television programme, a gang of armed men surrounded the house and asked for ‘Sir’. Dr.Rajkumar stood up when Veerappan came in front of him and agreed to come with him.

July 31- The entire State is shocked with the news of Dr.Rajkumar kidnap. An audio tape received by Smt.Parvathamma from Veerappan was handed over to Karnataka Chief Minister after reaching early in the morning. Karnataka Chief Minister S.M.Krishna along with Smt.Parvathamma Rajkumar and son Raghavendra Rajkumar rushed to Chennai to hold talks with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.Karunanidhi. The Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce called on Bundh of film activities in Karnataka.

Aug 3 - Joint emissary of two States R.R.Gopal left for meeting with Veerappan.

Aug 5 - Veerappan sends his second audio tape which consisted his demands.Dr.Rajkumar appealed in the audio tape for his fans and family to stay cool.

Aug 7 – TADA charges dropping decision taken by Karnataka State – one of the chief demands of Veerappan.

Aug 11 Forest outlaw sends video tape this time expressing his displeasure on not meeting his demands.

Aug 16 – R.R.Gopal the emissary left for forest for second time

Aug 20 - Detainees moved the bail applications in Mysore after State dropping the charges

Aug 21 – Abdul Kareem, father of slain police officer raised strong objection to dropping TADA charges and moved to the Supreme Court of India.

Aug 24 – Gopal returns to Chennai with clarification sought by Veerappan

Aug 25 – Fund formed for Rs.5 crore asked by forest outlaw Veerappan

Aug 27 – Gopal enters forest for the third time

Aug 30 - The TADA court in Mysore orders release of 51 detainees

Sept 1 – The Supreme Court of India stayed the bail granted to TADA detainees

Sept 4 - The Supreme Court of India asked the States to file

responses within 10 days

Sept 6 - The adamant Veerappan sends back Gopal empty handed. He brought third video cassette

Sept 8 – The TN CM M.Karunanidhi meets the Karnataka CM and Parvathamma Rajkukmar in Bangalore

Sept 11 – TN government said Supreme Court that it is entitled to release detainees

Sept 13 – Karnataka filed an affidavit at SC

Sept. 17 – Tamil organizations file affidavit in SC – The fear of safety expressed in case Dr.Rajkumar is not released at the earliest.

Sept 19 – The entire Karnataka Film Industry held a peaceful protest in the city. Later the protests were held in districts of Karnataka.

Sept 20 – The Fourth mission of R.R.Gopal to forest Smt.parvathamma Rajkumar, the wife of abducted, renowned producer was admitted to Mallaya Hospital for a mild heart attack. TN Government blamed Karnataka for not informing about Dr.Rajkumar journey to Gajanur from where he was kidnapped.

Sept 22 – Centre files affidavit supporting the two States

Sept 28 – Hostage Nagappa makes a daring escape from the clutches of Veerappan KARNATAKA BUNDH called by Karnataka Film Industry was peaceful

Sept 29 – Veerappan sends audio tape to Tamil Nationalist Movement leader Nedumaran.The Karnataka Film Industry revoked the Bundh Call given. The film activities in the State began after 65 days of halt of activities.

Oct 2 – MP’s and Opposition parties in State hold a crucial meeting with Karnataka Chief Minister.

Oct 9 – The services of Central Government is not required at this juncture says Karnataka Law Minister D.B.Chandre Gowda.

Oct 10 – Tamil Nationalist Movement leader Nadumaraman, Sukumaran, Prof.Kalyani joins Emissary Gopal to negotiate with Veerappan for the release of Dr.Rajkumar

Oct 11 – The SC asks for a parallel solution to Dr.Rajkumar release. Asked for two States meeting reports in a sealed cover.

Oct 12 – NHRC disagree to interfere in TADA cast

Oct 16 – Dr.Rajkumar’s son in law and also brother in law S.A.Govindaraju was released by Veerappan on the grounds of health.

Oct 17 – Govindaraju speaks. He says Veerappan is very adamant. Dr.Rajkumar is hale and healthy. The key demands of Veerappan have to be met for the release says Govindaraju.The Supreme Court of India says freeing Dr.Rajkumar is not the solution. It attacked the two State Governments.

Oct 19 – The Supreme Court says the TN government should have given security to Dr.Rajkumar.

Oct 20 – The SC says it is not interested in the release of TADA detainees. Postponed hearing to Oct 31

Oct 28 – Tamil Liberation troupe threats to blow up police stations and railway tracks

Oct 30 - The SC reserves verdict on TADA case

Nov 6 – The Katnataka Chief Minister says there was no other alternative left to the present set up of negotiations.

Nov 7 – The Supreme Court of India says no to release of TADA detainees.TMC leader demands Nedumaran arrest at TN assembly. Nadumaran rules out negotiations in protest.

Nov 8 – Nedumaran rejects Dr. Rajkumar son’s request to continue negotiations.

Nov 11 – Nedumaran relents on two CM’s requests. Kannada film industry left to Chennai to request Nedumaran to continue the negotiations.

Nov 12 – Nedumaran, Kalyani and Sukumaran leave in the wee hours for jungles without Gopal.

Nov 15 – Dr. Rajkumar, Nagesh released.

Source : wikipedia , Chitraloka

Awards and Honours

2008-09-23T10:40:00.000-07:00

Dr.Rajkumar received numerous state, national and international awards.

1.He received an honorary doctorate from Mysore University in 1976.

2.He won 10 Filmfare awards for the best actor category — the second highest in the history of Indian films.

3.He won nine state awards in the best actor category. (State awards for films were started by the Karnataka government in 1967 when Rajkumar's career was half over. But still he managed to win the most awards in the Kannada film industry.)

4.He won a National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer in 1993 for "Naadamaya ee Lokavella" song in Jeevana Chaitra movie.

5.He received the Padma Bhushan Award from the Government of India in 1983 and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1995, in recognition of his contributions to the Kannada film industry.

6.He was rewarded Karnataka Ratna in the year 1993 by the Government of Karnataka.

7.In 1985, Rajkumar won the prestigious Kentucky colonel award presented in Bangalore by the then-governor of Kentucky U.S.

8.Karnataka government in 1967 awarded him "Nata Saarvabhowma" (The Emperor of Acting).

Source : wikipedia

Gokak Agitation Lead By Dr.Rajkumar

2008-09-23T09:41:00.000-07:00

Gokak agitation (Kannada :ಗೋಕಾಕ್ ಚಳುವಳಿ) was a successful language rights agitation in the 1980s that fought for the first language status of the Kannada language in the state of Karnataka, India.

It was named after the committee headed by V.K.Gokak that had recommended giving primacy to Kannada in State schools. The actorDr.Rajkumar led the campaign.

Background :

Karnataka had adopted Three language formula for education in schools since the linguistic reorganization of states in 1956. Strong opposition to Hindi was witnessed in the 1960s and '70s, leading to Kannada speakers leaning towards English. It was also felt that Kannada faced threat from Sanskrit, which was the dominant language in schools, leading to a situation where students could complete their high School education without having to study Kannada. This created a wide incompatibility between languages used for state administration and education.

This led to a linguistic movement against retaining Sanskrit as the first language in School education. The movement was initiated and supported by political parties, groups of Kannada teachers, students, college and university professors, literary critics, playwrights, and creative writers. This made the government rethink about the language policy for school education and constituted a committee on July 5, 1980 with Prof. V.K. Gokak as the Chairman.

Gokak Report :

V.K.Gokak the former Vice-Chancellor of Karnataka University , also now one of the Jnanapith awardees, headed the committee appointed by the Government of Karnataka to analyse and study the linguistic issues that were raised regarding the importance of various languages, including the state language Kannada and other languages such as English, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil and Urdu. The report given by the committee recommended that the Government provide first language status to Kannada and also demanded the primary facilities that the language needed at the time.

Agitation and Campaign :

There was opposition to the Gokak Report from several sectors of the public, which included minorities from various non-Kannada speaking groups. The Government had not passed any ruling or announcement, even after the report was officially submitted by the committee. This resulted in minor protests from various men of letters, writers, and some pro-Kannada, pro-Karnataka organizations. The response from the public was moderate and there were no signs from the Government that it intended to implement the recommendations made by the Gokak committee.

Dr.Rajkumar Leadership :

Various personalities from Kannada literature world including Chandrashekar patil, approached and requested Rajkumar, an icon of the Kannada film industry, to participate in the agitation along with the other major artists from the industry. Rajkumar accepted to participate, and soon the entire Kannada film industry stopped its film-making activity, and started in state-wide rallies and speeches. With Dr. Rajkumar's leadership, the agitation gained a very strong momentum and there was a drastic change in the response from the general public of Karnataka state. People from all over the state, started participating in the various gatherings, and speeches. The topics such as, importance of the Kannada as the mother-tongue, and importance of having the primary education including the learning of Kannada language were talked in detail in all those speeches.

Government's Response to Agitation :

The Government of Karnataka, headed by the then Chief Minister, R.Gundu Rao, responded to the seriousness of the agitation, which had gained significant momentum after Rajkumar had taken leadership of the agitation. It announced that it accepted the report submitted by the Gokak Committee and would ensure all the primary facilities that the language Kannada deserves as the mother tongue of the local people as well as the official language of the state of Karnataka.

Singing career

2008-09-23T04:06:00.001-07:00

Dr. Rajkumar was also a well-known singer. He sang many devotional songs. He won the National Award for the song "Naadamaya" from the movie Jeevana Chaitra. He had trained in classical music while in Gubbi Veranna's drama troupe. At that time it was required for everyone to at least have a working knowledge of classical music. He had sung a song in the movie Mahishasura Mardini with G.K.Venkatesh as the music director.

Rajkumar however, did not become a full fledged singer until his hugely popular songYare Koogadali from the movie Sampathige Sawal. Prior to his singing in Sampathige Sawal, Rajkumar's songs were sung by Dr.P.B.Srinivas. He used to call PBS 'Shaareera' while he referred to himself as 'Shareera'. Raj had a good voice and all his songs are popular. He excelled in singing all types of songs from romantic to heavily classical. After Yare Koogadali he sang for most of his movies and for many private albums which were mainly devotional albums. His song renditions would range from pure classical to disco and fast numbers to Pathos.

Although his singing was greatly appreciated, his fans of the days of black-and-white movies in 1960s and 1970s, swear by the fact that his true identity was P B Srinivas, who did the playback singing for most of Rajkumar's movies, until Rajkumar himself started to sing. PBS continued singing for him in many of the movies in which Rajkumar starred in double/triple roles.

In his final years, Rajkumar had lent his voice to a few other actors and sang many background solos. One such song which holds a unique distinction was for the movie Muddina Maava wherein he had provided playback to the legendary singer S.P.Balasubramaniyam, who had acted in the movie. This is probably a rare occasion where an actor sings for a singer, which is probably unmatched in the world of cinema. He had sung many devotional songs on Hanuman and Sri.Raghavendra Swamiji. One of his most famous songs is "Huttidare Kannada naadalli hutta beku".

The theatrical background he had since childhood really helped him in acting as well as singing. Adept at rendering his voice to different moods - romantic, sentimental, devotional and semi-classical, his songs about Kannada language and culture such as Jenina holeyo, Maanavanagi huttidmele and Huttidare are immensely popular. He even sang a complete English song in one of his bond films. Interestingly, he lent voice for SPB in Muddina Mava and comedian Narasimharaju in Devasundari.

Naadamaya, a classical song in Raga Thodi, which won him the national award for best playback singing proves his versatility as a singer with its complex graces as it progresses with other ragas. He switches between ragas with ease and sings Swara patterns just like a professional.Kalidasa's shlokas, songs which are based on ghazals like Sadaa Kannali, Kanneera Dhaare, Gelathi Baradu and Yaava Kaviyu have also been very melodious and popular. Besides films, he rendered his voice for many devotional songs.

As many as 17 singers gave voice to Rajkumar before he started singing his own songs, and that was after he had been acting for over two decades. Until 1974, P.B.Srinivas was Rajkumar's most frequent singing voice in films. However, once when P.B. Srinivas was not available to sing for the movie Sampattige Sawal, Composer G.K.Venkatesh encouraged Rajkumar to sing. With the song Yaare koogadali, Rajkumar restarted his singing career, which had stopped after the movie Ohileshwara. Thus began his journey as the most famous actor-singer that the Kannada film industry has ever seen. Singers, who lent voice to Rajkumar include P.B.Srinivas and Ghantasala Venkateshwara Rao.

Later on, Rajkumar sang songs for all the movies in which he acted, and also as a playback singer he had sung many songs to others.In addition to classical, light classical and movie style singing he had also mastered 'mattuu'(free style singing in Kannada mythological dramas similar to opera singing) style. The best examples are in movies 'Bhabruvaahana' and ' Bhaktha Prahalaadda. Rajkumar was also a good harmonium player.

Popular Songs sung by Dr.Rajkumar :

1.Baani Gondu Elle Ellide Ninaasegeli Koneidhe - Premada Kanike -- Download

2.Chaluveya Nota - Shankar Guru -- Download

3.If You Come Today - Operation Diamond Racket -- Download

4.Oh Yentha Soundarya - Ravichandra -- Download

5.Beladingalaagi Baa - Huliya Haalina Mevu -- Download

6.Yaava Kaviyu - Bhagyada Lakshmi Baaramma -- Download

7.Aaradisuve Madanaari - Babruvaahana -- Download

8.Hey Dhinakara - Om -- Download

9.Halu Jenu Ondaad Mele - Halu Jenu -- Download

Film career (1954 - 2000)

2008-09-23T03:32:00.000-07:00

Dr.Rajkumar ( ಡಾ.ರಾಜಕುಮಾರ್ ) started his career as a theater artist with his father in a troup led by the legendary Gubbi Veeranna. It was here that Rajkumar honed his acting and singing skills.

Bedara Kannappa, a 1954 Kannada language movie, marked his entry into the film world. This movie was directed by H L N Simha who also christened himRajkumar. Rajkumar would use the same name for the rest of his life.

Dr. Rajkumar was also one of the most versatile actors in Indian cinema. His character depictions ranged from comedy to action, from lover to double/triple roles, from mythological characters to portrayal of modern day social causes. He acted with the most popular heroines in southern Indian cinema, such as Kannada's Pandaribai, Leelavathi, Jayanti, Bharati,Arathi,Jayaprada, Madhavi, Geetha, Sarita and others from neighbouring states. He acted with many directors of the south Indian cinema from B.R. Pantulu, Puttanna kanagal to Shankar Nag and Nagabharana. With the exception of one Telugu movie called "Kalahasti Mahathyam" he acted only in Kannada movies. Actors who have acted with him considered it an achievement of their lifetime. Prithviraj Kapoor acted in the movie Saakshatkara in the role of Dr. Rajkumar's father.

In his lifetime, Dr. Rajkumar acted in 206 Kannada movies, excluding guest appearances. He owned a film production company called Vajreshwari Production, which produced films under the banner of Dakshayani Combines. Bhagyada Bagilu was his 100th movie and Devatha Manushya was his 200th movie.

Two of his most famous performances were in his own productions:Kaviratna Kalidasa and Shankar-Guru. He produced movies based on famous Kannada novels. He was ably supported by his friend and script writerChi. Udayashankar. He signed films only after consultation with his brother, S.P. Varadaraju. He chose stories that usually had a social message for the audience. He also made many movies against social evils. One such movie is Shabdavedi which is against the evil of drugs.

He never smoked a cigar/cigarette or acted as an alcoholic in any of his movies (excepting a few in the early days of his career). In real life too, he was a non-smoker and non-alcoholic and maintained a very high standard of living, performing daily Yogasana and following a strict diet.

Though he had numerous chances to try his hand at Indian politics owing to his mass following, he shied away from active politics focusing his energy toward art and cinema. His last movie was Shabdavedhi (2000), in which Jayaprada played the female lead.

His most memorable films include Bedara Kannapa, Bangarada Manushya, Kastoori Nivasa, Sri Krishnadevaraya, Kula Gowrava, Gandhada Gudi, Sampathige Sawal, Shankar-Guru, Babruvahana, Bhakta Prahalada, Halu Jenu, Bhagyada Lakshmi Baramma, Jeevana Chaitra, Akasmika, Premada Kanike, Vasantha Geetha, Apoorva Sangama, Daari Tappida Maga, and many others.