Bangalore on riot - all for a dead actor

Let’s get this straight first. I am not from Bangalore. I have never heard of Kanada actor Rajkumar until he was kidnapped by sandalwood smuggler Veerappan a few years ago. And I don’t believe that movie actors play any role in determining how we should lead our life.

So with these basic ground rules set, it is not hard to fathom why I was shocked too read about the violent reaction of Rajkumar’s fans to his death.

In the day and age of globalization where making money seems to be the mantra of the day everywhere, folks in Bangalore went on a rampage, creating riots, leaving scores injured and six dead not because they wanted a bigger economy slice in this silicon city but to mourn the passing of the film icon.

In the process, these mourning fans brought life in Bangalore to a standstill. But to be fair to them, it was not just them who caused this. I agree that they did vent their ire on the police and public property when they were prevented from paying homage to Karnataka’s icon Rajkumar, 77, who passed away on Wednesday.

But it was a voluntary decision by the MNCs, bio-tech, banks and private companies and state-owned enterprises, educational institutions, markets and restaurants to close down to mark the actor's funeral and last rites that bewilders me.

India's Silicon Valley too logged out for the day with 1,500-odd info-tech companies declaring a holiday for their three lakh-odd employees as a mark of respect for the actor.

All for an actor whose last movie appearance was maybe a decade ago?

Although the city is returning to normalcy now, the police nevertheless are keeping a close watch.

This is what the Times of India reported today:

Agitated fans of the Kannada icon went on a rampage on Thursday, attacking police with stones and sticks and damaging public property by setting five buses and 10 private vehicles on fire after they failed to have a glimpse of their "Annavaru" (elder brother) at the Kanteerava sports stadium in the heart of the city.

The police was forced to open fire outside the Kanteerava studio even as the last rites were underway when thousands of fans attempted to breach the security cordon and enter the premises to witness the funeral.

I fail to understand the high human emotions shown by these fans. What do they think they can achieve by personally witnessing the funeral of an actor or by bringing chaos to their city.

And I am even more disappointed by the economy naivety shown by the Bangalore industries. Aren’t there any other way for them to show their respect than just shutting down? Or were they influenced by the anger and emotions shown by the fans-cum-workers?

Come on now, no matter how popular an actor is/was, he is just that – an actor. When he acts well, we pay homage to him by applauding him. When he dies, we should similarly preserve his good name by continuing to respect and admire his acting talents. No one should have the right to sully and ruin someone else’s funeral by causing mayhem, chaos and economy losses to the city that is only detrimental to the people who live there.

I hope younger fans will have more brains than those who adulated the yesteryear stars.