By V S Rajapur

Bangalore, March 2 (IANS) Kannada actor Shivaraj Kumar has decided to donate his body to a hospital for research after his death and has signed a declaration to this effect.

Reel life has followed real life in the case of Shivaraj Kumar who in his latest film "Sugreeva" is ready to donate his heart to save his son's life.

"The film has a very good message to the audience. There are many sequences in which the film's hero Sugreeva says medical insurance is necessary for the poor people to overcome financial hardships when quality medical treatment has become too expensive," the actor told journalists who visited his residence on Holi, Monday.

"There is also a sequence where a dead child's parents agree to donate the heart of their kid to another child who is in a critical condition. Finally, there is also a message that people should be prepared to donate their organs after death.

"I am very happy that this message has gone well with the people who have seen the film and I am now declaring that I will also donate my entire body for medical research," he added.

Shivaraj Kumar's later father Raj Kumar had also donated his eyes and convinced many to donate their eyes. In fact, an eye bank has been started in the name of Raj Kumar by the well-known hospital Narayana Nethralaya here.

Shivaraj Kumar hopes his younger brothers - Raghavendra and Puneet - too follow suit.

Incidentally, he is the second actor after the late Lokesh to donate his body for research work. Lokesh died a year ago and soon after his death the body was given to M.S. Ramaiah Medical Hospital for research.

Down south the trend was started by Tamil superstar Kamal Hassan - he was the first southern actor to have signed the declaration to donate his body for research.