Rajkumar, once one of the most famous actors in south India's vibrant film industry, died on Wednesday in Bangalore. He was 77 years old.
The actor, who was a Dada Saheb Phalke Award winner, died of cardiac arrest.
A legend in Kannada film industry, Rajkumar had served for more than five decades and acted in more than 220 movies.
While he had given up acting in recent years, he remained one of the best-loved figures in south India.
Fondly called by his fans as "Annavaru" meaning beloved elder brother, Dr Rajkumar entered the film industry at the age of eight years and got his first break as a hero in film in 1954. Thereafter, he went on to work in over 220 films and became a household name in the Kannada-speaking world.
In 2000, Rajkumar had survived a 108-day ordeal in the Satyamangalam forests of Karnataka after brigand Veerappan kidnapped him along the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border.