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'My brother might help Annavru's release!

M D Riti in Bangalore

"If only my brother can help in any way, to expedite Annavru's early release, we would be most privileged," says Sathyanarayana Rao Gaekwad, in chaste Kannada.

The brother Gaekwad refers to is, of course, Tamil megastar Rajanikant, whose original name is Shivaji Rao Gaekwad. The older Gaekwad still lives in his old, one-room family home in Hanumanthanagar in Bangalore, and reacts like a typical old resident of Karnataka when he says he is praying fervently for Dr Rajakumar's quick return.

Incidentally, Dr Rajakumar and Rajanikant share more than a profession in cinema. They are both devotees of Raghavendra, a leading saint of Karnataka, and disciples of the Bangalore's leading yoga teacher, H S Naiker. And now, Rajanikant is known to have involved himself in negotiating for Rajakumar's release from Veerappan, as the forest brigand is known to be fond of Rajanikant films and music.

Satyanarayana Rao Gaekwad looks like an older and more distinguished version of his kid brother Shivaji. A Bangalore City Corporation inspector, his father was a police constable. "I always sensed that he was destined for great things," says Gaekwad now. "I am glad God proved me right."

"He was a very understanding and quiet child," reminisces Sathyanarayana. "He never asked for anything or craved luxuries. The only thing he could never tolerate was injustice. If he saw injustice anywhere, he would immediately punish the perpetrator, without bothering whether he was the local goonda or his size."

That is exactly what the young Shivaji's friends say about him. Adds Sathyanarayana, "His fearlessness helped him survive those early years in Madras, when industry people didn't take kindly to an outsider making it big on their turf."

"He knows his own power," says Sathyanarayana, with quiet pride. "All he had to do was speak his mind once briefly on television. And the whole of Tamil Nadu voted as he believed. Otherwise, Jayalalitha would definitely have come back to power in Tamil Nadu."

An awareness of his power is probably why Rajanikant has decided to get involved in Dr Rajakumar's release.

Also read:

The Rajanikant Silver Jubilee Special!