Rajkumar mobbed on homecoming

The sigh of relief that the city took was nearly audible over the din of the fireworks and cheers of the crowds as Kannada film star Dr. Rajkumar stepped on to Karnataka soil around 11 a.m. yesterday morning.

He first landed at the regular Bangalore City Airport, in a helicopter provided by the Karnataka State Government, where he was greeted by Karnataka Chief Minister S. M. Krishna. He was then lifted to another airport on the north outskirts of the city, at Jakkur, where his family and fans were waiting.

The over 5,000-strong crowd broke police barriers and mobbed the superstar when he alighted. Looking frail and tired, not at all like the hero of over 200 films (his latest was released a few months ago, where at age 74, he played the role of a middle-aged policeman), Dr. Rajkumar was, however, composed and spoke to the crowd.

He was then brought to the Vidhana Soudha, the seat of the State Government where he addressed a press conference, narrating his 108-day long stay in the forests with the sandalwood smuggler, Veerappan.

"I don't know how I spent those days," the tanned and drawn Rajkumar said, "there were no people around, only Veerappan and his men. We would occasionally see some elephants passing by. Everyday was a struggle."

According to him, there was hope in the first fortnight that something would happen when the editor of a Tamil newsmagazine, R. R. Gopal began making his forays to the smuggler's hideout, but after three months hopes had diminished.

Matters got worse when one of the hostages ran away, the film star recalled. "Our hands were tied and we were terrorised," he said, adding that he asked Veerappan to free the other hostages, except himself. Veerappan then assured him that good care would be taken of him. "It was only when Nedumaran entered the picture that our hopes once again were raised," he said.

Acting saved his life, admitted the superstar. According to the matinee idol, Nedumaran entered the forests with a lady doctor, Dr. Bhanu, another negotiator, Ramkumar, who is the son of a former Director General of Police of Karnataka, R. Ramalingam, a third negotiator Mani and the president of the Bangalore Tamil Federation P. Shanmugasundaram.

Dr. Bhanu assured him that everything would be taken care of before she left, he said. She and the others returned a few days later to negotiate once again with the smuggler, Dr. Rajkumar said, adding that at that time, she whispered in his ear to act as if he was unwell and out of breath.

The thespian followed her advice and she immediately raised panic levels, warning that he was seriously ill. "The next thing I know, I found myself on the road to Erode," Dr. Rajkumar laughed, with obvious relief.

However, the smuggler gave him a farewell with a fresh set of clothes and asked him to keep his release a secret for at least three days, so that he could move to a new location. However, that was not to be.

Rajkumar reached Erode in neighbouring Tamil Nadu at around 2 a.m. the next morning (Wednesday) and before noon the secret was out.