Puneeth Rajkumar, affectionately known as Appu, was an former Indian actor, playback singer, film producer, television presenter and philanthropist who worked in Kannada cinema. He was the youngest son of legendary actor and matinee idol Dr. Rajkumar. He was one of the most popular actors in Kannada cinema. He appeared as a lead in 32 films. As a child, he appeared in many films. His performances as a child actor in Vasantha Geetha (1980), Bhagyavantha (1981), Chalisuva Modagalu (1982), Eradu Nakshatragalu (1983), Bhakta Prahaladha (1983), Yarivanu (1984) and Bettada Hoovu (1985) were praised. He won the National Film Award for Best Child Artist for his role of Ramu in Bettada Hoovu. He also won Karnataka State Award Best Child artist for Chalisuva Modagalu and Eradu Nakshatragalu. Puneeth's first lead role was in 2002's Appu. In a career spanning three decades, he has won one National Film Award, four Karnataka State Film Awards, six Filmfare Awards South and five SIIMA awards. He was conferred with the Doctorate by Mysuru University. The Karnataka Government conferred the state's highest civilian award, Karnataka Ratna, to Puneeth Rajkumar on 1 November 2022, posthumously.
Nuvvu Naaku Nachav is a 2001 Indian Telugu-language romantic comedy film directed by K. Vijaya Bhaskar who co-wrote the film with Trivikram Srinivas. It is produced by Sravanthi Ravi Kishore under the Sri Sravanthi Movies studio. The film stars Venkatesh and Aarthi Agarwal which also marks the latter's debut. The music was composed by Koti.
Mungaru Male is a 2006 Indian Kannada-language romantic drama film co-written and directed by Yogaraj Bhat, and produced by E. Krishnappa. It stars Ganesh, Pooja Gandhi and Anant Nag. The film is believed to have shaped and strengthened the careers of Ganesh; Pooja Gandhi; director Yograj Bhat; lyricist Jayant Kaikini, choreographers A. Harsha and Imran Sardaria; composer Mano Murthy; and made Bollywood playback singers Sonu Nigam, Kunal Ganjawala and Udit Narayan popular in Karnataka.
Milana (transl. Rendezvous) is a 2007 Indian Kannada-language romantic comedy drama film co-written and directed by Prakash, starring Puneeth Rajkumar and Parvathy in lead roles. The film was Parvathy's debut in Kannada cinema. The movie also features Pooja Gandhi, Dileep Raj, Sumithra and Mukhyamantri Chandru in prominent roles. Music for the film was composed by Mano Murthy.
Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language musical romantic drama film written and directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon, starring Silambarasan and Trisha. Jointly produced by Elred Kumar, Jayaraman, VTV Ganesh and P. Madan under the banner Escape Artists Motion Pictures and RS Infotainment, the film was distributed by Udhayanidhi Stalin's Red Giant Movies. The story was simultaneously shot in Telugu as Ye Maaya Chesave, starring Naga Chaitanya and Samantha.
Arasu (Search/King) is a 2007 Indian Kannada-language romantic drama film directed by Mahesh Babu. It features Puneeth Rajkumar in the title role as the son of a business tycoon who leaves his inherited wealth to make a living on his own upon being rejected by a girl played by Ramya who he proposes to in marriage. When a middle-class girl played by Meera Jasmine enters their lives, it soon turns out to be a love triangle. Srinivasa Murthy, Komal and Adi Lokesh appear in supporting roles. Kannada film actors Darshan and Aditya made cameo appearance. Actress Shriya Saran also made a cameo appearance in the film, her first Kannada language film. The movie was dubbed in Hindi as Zinda Dili and in Marathi as Premachi Satva Pariksha.
Raam is a 2009 Indian Kannada-language romantic comedy movie released in 2009 directed by K. Madesh starring Puneeth Rajkumar and Priyamani, who making debut in Kannada cinema. Harikrishna is the music director for the movie. The movie is a remake of 2008 Telugu film Ready.
Ajay is a 2006 Indian Kannada-language action film directed by Meher Ramesh and starring Puneeth Rajkumar, Anuradha Mehta and Prakash Raj. It was Anuradha's debut Kannada film. The film is a remake of the Telugu film Okkadu (2003). The film was a success. Prakash Raj reprised his role as the main antagonist from Okkadu as well as it's Tamil remake Ghilli (2004).
Abhi is a 2003 Indian Kannada-language romantic action comedy film written & directed by Dinesh Babu and produced by Parvathamma Rajkumar under Poornima Enterprises. The film stars Puneeth Rajkumar in the titular role, with Ramya, making her debut in Kannada cinema. Dr. Rajkumar sang a song for the film composed by Gurukiran. The film was remade in Telugu as Abhimanyu, with Nandamuri Kalyan Ram reprising Puneeth Rajkumar's role and Ramya reprising her role in the Telugu version.
Manasantha Nuvve is a 2001 Indian Telugu-language romantic drama film directed by V. N. Aditya. This film stars Uday Kiran and Reema Sen in the lead roles. The film was written and produced by M. S. Raju and had music composed by R. P. Patnaik. The film released on 19 October 2001 and was a success like Uday Kiran's previous films Chitram (2000) and Nuvvu Nenu (2001). It was one of the biggest hits of 2001 in Telugu cinema. The film is inspired by the Hindi film Anmol Ghadi (1946).
Lifeu Ishtene is a 2011 Indian Kannada-language black comedy film written and directed by Pawan Kumar. It stars Diganth, Sindhu Lokanath and Samyukta Hornad in the lead roles. Sathish Ninasam, Achyuth Kumar and Veena Sundar feature in supporting roles. The plot revolves around the adult life of a carefree youngster, who falls in love easily with multiple women, and observes the consequences, "realizing the meaning of life" and that it comes a "full circle". The title of the film was taken from a track of the 2010 Kannada film Pancharangi.
Chandra is a 2013 Indian romantic drama film, simultaneously made in Kannada and Tamil languages. Directed by Roopa Iyer, it stars Shriya Saran and Prem Kumar. The film deals with the life of a last generation princess and her love story. The film was released on 27 June 2013 to positive reviews and emerged as a high success at the Kannada Box office. The Tamil version of the film was released on 14 February 2014.
Naveena Saraswathi Sabatham is a 2013 Indian Tamil-language fantasy comedy film written and directed by K. Chandru. The film revolves around four men, played by Jai, VTV Ganesh, Sathyan and Rajkumar. Niveda Thomas was paired opposite Jai. The film was produced by Kalpathi S Aghoram and has cinematography by Anand Jeeva; songs were composed by Prem Kumar. The film went on floors on 29 November 2013. It is not a sequel of the 1966 film Saraswathi Sabatham.
Power is a 2014 Indian masala film directed by K. Madesh and features Puneeth Rajkumar and Trisha in lead roles, alongside Prabhu, Kelly Dorjee, Rangayana Raghu and Sadhu Kokila in supporting roles. It is a remake of the 2011 Telugu film Dookudu which itself was inspired by the 2003 German tragicomedy film Good Bye, Lenin!. The story revolves around Bharath Kumar (Puneeth), a police officer who’s pursuing underworld don Naik (Kelly), who operates from Spain and Mumbai. Naik and his henchmen had tried to kill Bharath’s father Krishna Prasad (Prabhu), an honest MLA and a staunch follower of late actor Rajkumar. Circumstances force Bharath to act as an MLA, a reality show director and a cop, three roles which he portrays with finesse. While in Spain, Bharath falls in love with Prashanthi (Trisha). But how he plans to eliminate Naik and company forms the mainstay of the plot.
Maduve Aagona Baa is 2001 Kannada-language film starring Shivarajkumar, Laya, and Shilpi. It was a remake of Telugu film Pellichesukundam (1997)
Mungaru Male 2 is a 2016 Indian Kannada romantic drama film co-written and directed by Shashank. It stars Ganesh, Neha Shetty and Ravichandran with Shilpa Manjunath, Aindrita Ray, P. Ravi Shankar and Sadhu Kokila in supporting roles. It is not a sequel to the film Mungaru Male (2006). The film found its theatrical release worldwide on 9 September 2016, while in Karnataka, the release was pushed to 10 September 2016 because of the Cauvery water dispute. It was a commercial success at the box office by collecting over ₹20 crore in its lifetime theatrical run.
Nayagi is a 2018 Indian Tamil-language family drama series. It premiered on 19 February 2018 on Sun TV, replacing Deivamagal, and was replaced by Anbe Vaa and it ended on 31 October 2020. The show was produced by Vikatan Televistas Pvt Ltd and directed by S Kumaran. Nayagi was also re-aired on Kalaignar TV from 1 March 2021 to 9 July 2022.
Naan Sirithal is a 2020 Indian Tamil-language comedy film written and directed by Raana in his directorial debut. Following the success of Meesaya Murukku and Natpe Thunai, Sundar C co-produced Adhi's third film and it became a hat-trick hit. Hiphop Tamizha and Iswarya Menon and K. S. Ravikumar is playing a villain role, while Badava Gopi and Eruma Saani Vijay are playing supporting roles. It is a feature film version of Raana's own short film Keka Beka Keka Beka. The film released on 14 February 2020 to mixed reviews.
