Shivarajkumar, 63, urges stars his age to go past the ‘delusion’ they look ‘forever young’

4 min readMumbaiJul 13, 2026 03:59 PM IST

Shivarajkumar played Ram Charan's coach in Peddi.

Kannada superstar Shivarajkumar was last seen as Gournaidu, the coach of Ram Charan’s titular protagonist in Buchi Babu Sana’s Telugu sports drama Peddi last month. With that role, he transitioned from a leading star, who has ruled the Kannada film industry for almost three decades, to playing a key supporting role in a film of another language and headlined by another, younger superstar.

Shivarajkumar on the ‘delusion’ in lead actors of his age

“People here pamper heroes and instill a false arrogance in us, making us believe we look forever young. There is a set of films that we can do for that, but we cannot ignore reality,” Shivarajkumar, 63, put it bluntly in a recent interview. “We must accept the truth. Death is as much a reality as birth,” he added.

Shivarajkumar then quoted the instance of his younger brother and fellow Kannada superstar Puneeth Rajkumar, who died of a heart attack at the age of 46 in 2021. “Is that an age for him to go? Definitely not. But such is life. We cannot live in delusion or denial. We must have no regrets when we are old and frail and cannot do this,” Shivarajkumar told Variety India.

Shivarajkumar with his late brother Puneeth Rajkumar.

“If people like you, the fans will put you on a pedestal. If they don’t, they will throw you away. That is the truth and we cannot deny that. My job is to just keep doing work honestly,” added the actor. Shivarajkumar’s statements come a couple of years after he was diagnosed with bladder cancer in early 2024. However, he was declared cancer-free by the end of the year following a surgery in the US.

His short yet gruelling cancer battle has been depicted in the documentary Survivor. “It was a superb journey as I have been candid about sharing all my problems that I have faced in life. Right from the head to my legs, I have had many issues that I have faced in my life through my career so far. I have survived and come back, and there have been a lot of people who have been the reason for my survival. This is my way of showing gratitude to them,” said Shivarajkumar.

Shivarajkumar branches out into other industries

Shivarajkumar is at a point in his career and life when he doesn’t mind taking a step back from the spotlight and experimenting with character roles. Having kicked off his career as a leading man 30 years ago with Singeetam Srinivasa Rao’s 1986 Kannada film Anand, Shivarajkumar ruled the roost across the late 1980s, the 1990s, and even a better part of the 2000s.

Three years ago, a high-voltage cameo in Nelson Dilipkumar’s 2023 Tamil blockbuster action comedy Jailer led to Shivarajkumar gaining prominence in other regional industries. He then appeared as Senganna in Arun Matheswaran’s 2024 Tamil period action adventure film Captain Miller alongside Dhanush.

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While he continued to star in Kannada films, he admitted that his recent role in Peddi has opened several doors. He’ll next reprise his role of Narasimha in Dilipkumar’s Jailer 2, alongside Rajinikanth, which is slated to release in cinemas on October 15. “In Jailer, where I had a cameo with not much dialogue, people enjoyed just one look and went crazy. I was taken by surprise, and when I tried to deduce what could be the reason, everyone just said it was the aura I had,” reasoned Shivarajkumar.