Mysuru: Late Kannada actor Power Star Puneeth Rajkumar’s last film James had a posthumous release all over the world on Thursday March 17, which happens to be his birth anniversary. Many theatres in Karnataka erupted in celebrations as the star’s fans were excited to see him on the screen. Although the news of his death has left a huge
void in his fans’ hearts, they couldn’t stop themselves from cheering when they saw him on screen.
The theatres that are screening Puneeth’s movie wore a festive look. Appu’s brother Hat-trick Hero Shiva Rajkumar visited Gayathri theatre amid a thunderous welcome. Crackers were burst to mark the occasion. Shivaraj watched the movie for sometime.
Talking to mediapersons later, he said, “While I was dubbing for the movie, I used to feel very sad. To miss him on his birthday is really tough. That is the way life goes and we need to move forward. More than his talent, it was his human side that marked his life. Appu may not be with us physically but he is living in our hearts. I shall watch the movie completely in the days to come.”
He added, “It is a very emotional moment for all of us that his movie is being released in his absence. If the film city is going to be named after Puneeth, I will be very happy though I am not going to insist. Many have worked for the Kannada film industry.”
Coming to the film, Puneeth plays Santhosh, a security agent who takes leadership of a squad to take down a mafia operation. Puneeth’s brothers Shiva Rajkumar and Raghavendra Rajkumar have done a cameo in James. Puneeth’s voice in the film has been dubbed by his brother Shiva Rajkumar.
Puneeth, affectionately called Appu by his fans, died of a heart attack on October 29 last year in Bengaluru’s Vikram Hospital. He was 46 years old at the time.
