Amitabh Bachchan recalls when Kannada star Dr Rajkumar rolled on temple floor to pray for his life after Coolie accident: ‘Grateful to be blessed him’ | Bollywood News

A recent episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati saw Kantara star Rishab Shetty on the hot seat with Amitabh Bachchan. The actor asked Big B about his memory with Kannada legend Dr Rajkumar, who was popularly known as Annavru. Speaking to the actor, Big B recalled how Rajkumar, who was known for his humility, performed urulu seve (rolling on the ground around the temple) for Amitabh’s speedy recovery after his near-fatal accident on the set of Coolie.
Amitabh Bachchan recalled Rajkumar rolling on floor to pray for his life
Speaking about Rajkumar’s simple nature, Amitabh shared, “In Karnataka, he is like a god but when I met him, he was very simple, down-to-earth. He wore simple clothes and lived in a very simple home. looking at him, you couldn’t tell that he was a big star.”
Recalling Rajkumar’s love towards him, Big B said, “The biggest accomplishment for me was… In 1982, I met with an accident on the sets of Coolie and that happened in Bengaluru. A lot of things happened after that. A lot of people prayed for me but Rajkumar ji has a special temple in Karnataka, he went there and the tradition is that they wear wet clothes, and roll on the ground to do a parikrama. He did that to pray for my life.”
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He added, “Since then, till the date he died, he and I were connected. I was also connected to his kids, who have now become stars in their own right. I am ever grateful and obliged to have been blessed somebody like Rajkumar.”

When Big B ran to meet Rajkumar, touched his feet
In an old video, actor Dayanand recalled witnessing the love and respect between Rajkumar and Big B when they met during the shooting of the latter’s film Indrajeet in Karnataka. Dayanand recalled how Big B left everything and ran to meet Annavru, just like a child.
“There was heavy deployment of security around Amitabh Bachchan. Nobody was allowed within a half a kilometre radius of him. And he was on his chair, fixing his beard. As soon as he saw Annavru, he stopped everything at once and ran to him like a kid who saw his father after getting out of school. He ran towards Annavru and touched his feet. ‘I would have come and met you. You have come all the way, sir. You’re a great human being. I love you a lot sir’,” Dayanand recalled Amitabh’s words during the meeting with Annavru.
During this interaction, Annavru inquired about Big B’s health. “How’s your hand now? How’s your stomach? It’s a great pleasure you have come to our place,” Dayanand recalled Kannada star’s words. According to reports, Amitabh had also asked Rajkumar to do a cameo in the film Coolie. However, as per reports, due to his accident, the schedule of the film went haywire and Rajkumar could not appear in a cameo.Story continues below this ad
For the unversed, Amitabh suffered a near-fatal abdominal injury during a fight scene for the movie Coolie, when actor Puneet Issar’s mimed punch hit Big B’s stomach. This ruptured his spleen and resulted in him being in critical condition for months.