The songs Yaare Koogadali, Huttidare Kannada, Hey Dinakara, Hrudaya Samudra, Manikyaveena and Naadamaya became widely popular.

[24][25] Well known for his highly disciplined and simple lifestyle in both personal and professional fronts, Rajkumar was also an avid Yoga, Pranayama, and Carnatic music performer.

[54] His character depictions ranged from mythological, historical, devotional, James Bond styled spies to romantic, rural, action roles and portrayals of contemporary social causes in the span of over five decades.

[55] His historical movies such as Ranadheera Kanteerava, Immadi Pulikeshi, Sri Krishnadevaraya and Mayura presented a populist version of Karnataka's history, focusing on the Karnataka kingdoms such as Mysore royalty, The Chalukyas, Vijayanagara Empire and The Kadambas respectively[56] - thereby making him the only Indian actor to have portrayed the role of four prominent kings of Indian history - Kanthirava Narasaraja I, Pulakeshin II, Krishnadevaraya and Mayurasharma.

His movies were also noted to include drama sequences where he performs various mythological, historical or literary characters such as Romeo and Babruvahana in Amma (1968), Gautama Buddha in Uyyale (1969), Echchamanayaka in Bhale Jodi (1970) [63] and as Bhima in Havina Hede (1981).

His movies also have dream and song sequences where he appears in various characters such as Kamadeva in Dhruva Thare, as Krishna in Emme Thammanna,[64] Daari Tappida Maga and Bhagyada Lakshmi Baramma.

[67] While the early 60s saw him appearing in fantasy genre movies such as Rani Honnamma (1960), Aasha Sundari (1960), Devasundari (1962), Bala Nagamma (1966) and Devara Gedda Manava (1967), he was also noted for doing swashbuckler films [68] such as Vidhivilasa (1962), Veera Kesari (1963), Katari Veera (1966), Madhu Malathi (1966), Rajashekara (1967), Rajadurgada Rahasya (1967), Simha Swapna (1968), Jaga Mecchida Maga (1972), Bahaddur Gandu (1976) and Huliya Haalina Mevu (1979) at regular intervals in the 1960s and the 1970s.

[81] Sri Lankan based actress Sabeetha Perera also made her Indian movie debut with his film Goa Dalli CID 999.

His movie Ondu Muttina Kathe was reported to be the first ever Indian film to have an underwater action sequence shot in an ocean[84] outside India[85] without the help of oxygen mask.

In "Yaaru Tiliyaru Ninna" for Babruvahana (1977), a prosodic form of Kannada poetry that required the tone to be a combination of sarcasm and anger, he blended the twin skills of theatrics and music.

[92] His frequent collaboration with the composer duo of Rajan–Nagendra gave musical hits such as Bangarada Hoovu (1967), Nyayave Devaru (1971), Swayamvara (1973), Sri Srinivasa Kalyana (1974), Nanobba Kalla (1979) and Chalisuva Modagalu (1982).

Other female singers who sang with him are P. Susheela, Bangalore Latha, H. P. Geetha, K. S. Chitra, Swarnalatha, Manjula Gururaj, B. R. Chaya, Kasturi Shankar, Rathnamala Prakash, Sulochana and others.

The Supreme Court of India opined that it was "unpardonable" on the part of the government of Tamil Nadu for not providing security to Rajkumar, although they had information a year earlier that he faced a threat of being kidnapped by Veerappan.

[105] A Special Task Force (STF) set up to capture Veerapan had earlier warned Rajkumar against visiting the farmhouse, and his son Raghavendra later acknowledged that his father had not taken the threat seriously.

His personal physician Ramana Rao was called for, who rushed within three minutes, and performed external cardiac massage and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

[114] The blueprint of the memorial was cleared by a panel comprising members of Rajkumar's family, representatives of the Kannada film industry and the state government.

[116] A permanent exhibition on the history of Rajkumar's films that included his photographs, trophies and souvenirs, alongside a stock of dialogue, scripts, songs and other memorabilia associated with him were put on display.

[121] He was also praised for his ability to integrate actors' virtues with the power of a superstar without letting one erase the other by acting as a gulf between mainstream popular movies and artistic cinemas.

[122] It was also noted that it was his subtle acting prowess, spontaneous style and his flair to give the reel characters a real credibility which singled him out to the top and helped him to never be out of the running by withstanding the onslaught of time, age and the ever changing demands of celluloid world.

[132] The 1958 movie Shree Krishna Gaarudi, which narrates the bickering and squabbling among the Pandavas for portfolios, allegorises the politics in the then newly formed Mysore state.

[140] The 1969 movie Uyyale presents a delicate tale of the extra-marital love of a woman neglected by her husband [141] reflecting the social and moral laws of married life.

[143] The 1971 movie Kasturi Nivasa charts the rise of modern manufacturing techniques and the ill effects of orthodox approach towards upgradation of technology.

[149] The 1974 movie Sampathige Savaal speaks subtely about the abolishment of Zamindar system [150] by portraying the rich versus poor in a rural backdrop.

[66] Veteran journalist and writer Patil Puttappa had described Rajkumar as a natural strength of Kannada whose mass appeal was much more than any leader in Indian politics.

[176] B. Saroja Devi called upon the present generation artistes to adopt and emulate the values and ideals cherished by the actor for the growth of the Kannada film industry.

[181] The initial move to shift the operations of the Kannada cinema gradually from Madras to Bangalore has been credited to Rajkumar's home productions.

[185][186][187] On the occasion of Rajkumar's 90th birthday, an audio-visual musical extravaganza fund raiser programme titled Raj Vaibhava was conducted in Greater Boston for the benefit of a retirement home in Mumbai.

[194] Flower show conducted at Lal Bagh as a tribute to him on the occasion of 75th Independence Day in August 2022 was attended by 8.34 lakh people generating a revenue of ₹3.33 crore.

[195] Political analyst MK Bhaskar Rao had revealed that the Janata Party's J. H. Patel and George Fernandes had approached Rajkumar to contest against Indira Gandhi in the 1978 Chikkamagaluru Lok Sabha byelection but he refused saying he wanted to remain apolitical.

[41] To avoid setting a precedent among his fans, he made sure that the roles he accepted did not require him to smoke or drink or utter swear words, and extended this decision to real life.