Dr Rajkumar's statue ready to stand tall

Veteran Kannada actor Dr. Rajkumar's 13-feet brass statue is finally ready to stand tall after facing many setbacks. The Rajkumar's brass statue, which weighs 2,000 kg, the tallest of his statues. It will be installed before Town Hall Bangalore.

The posture of the statue is taken from his 1970 blockbuster Kasturi Nivasa. The statue also features a pigeon perched on his arm exactly the way he did in the movie. It is said that a total of Rs. 22 Lakhs have been spent on the statue. Now it will be unveiled after being delayed for two years.

Rajkumar's family has already approved his statue and it will be soon installed, said R Ashok, Minister in-charge of Bangalore. Presently, the statue is getting final touch and it will be unveiled very shortly. The date of unveiling is not decided yet. And it will be finalised after the meeting with Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagar Palike (BBMP) officials, Ashok added.

Initially, it was estimated that the statue would be done with the budget Rs. 13 lakhs, but the delay for two years has increased the amount to Rs. 22 lakhs, says Nagaraj Achar, who has sculpted the statue. The sculptor further said that the government would make him wait very long for payment. He even ran into debt while creating the statue commissioned by the BBMP.