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.
Divya Spandana, better known by her screen name Ramya, is an Indian actress, producer and politician. She served as the Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha from Mandya, Karnataka. She primarily works in Kannada, and Tamil language films. Ramya was the recipient of two Filmfare Awards South, an Udaya Award, and a Karnataka State Film Award.
Bindaas (transl. Independent) is a Kannada-language action comedy film directed by D. Rajendra Babu and produced by M. Chandrashekar under Udayachandra Productions. The film stars Puneeth Rajkumar, alongside Hansika Motwani, Nassar, Suman and Rahul Dev. The soundtrack and score was composed by Gurukiran, while the cinematography and editing were handled by H. C. Venu and T. Shashikumar respectively.
Vamshi is an Indian Kannada-language action drama film directed by Prakash and produced by Parvathamma Rajkumar under Sri Chakreshwari Combines. The film stars Puneeth Rajkumar, alongside Lakshmi, Nikita Thukral, Ravi Kale, Avinash Yelandur and Rajendra Karanth. The music was composed by R. P. Patnaik, while the cinematography and editing were handled by Krishna Kumar and Deepu. S. Kumar respectively.
Appu is a 2002 Indian Kannada-language romantic action film directed by Puri Jagannadh and produced by Parvathamma Rajkumar under Poornima Enterprises. The film stars debutants Puneeth Rajkumar and Rakshita, alongside Avinash Yelandur, Srinivasa Murthy and Sumithra. The music was composed by Gurukiran, while cinematography and editing were composed by K. Datthu and S. Manohar.
Jackie is a 2010 Indian Kannada-language action film directed by Duniya Soori and produced by Parvathamma Rajkumar. The film stars Puneeth Rajkumar and Bhavana in the lead roles, while Sumithra, Harshika Poonacha, Rangayana Raghu, Petrol Prasanna, Vikas and Ravi Kale appear in supporting roles.
Aakash is a 2005 Indian Kannada language romantic drama film directed by Mahesh Babu, written by Janardhana Maharshi and produced by Parvathamma Rajkumar. The film stars Puneeth Rajkumar, alongside Ramya, Ashish Vidyarthi, Kishore and Avinash. The music was composed by R. P. Patnaik, while cinematography and ediring were handled by Prasad Babu and S. Manohar.
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).
Veera Kannadiga is a 2004 Indian Kannada-language masala film directed by debutant Meher Ramesh from a story written by Puri Jagannadh who simultaneously shot the film in Telugu as Andhrawala starring Jr. NTR. The film stars Puneeth Rajkumar and Anita Hassanandani in the lead roles.
Maurya is a 2004 Kannada language sports drama film directed by S. Narayan. The film starred Puneeth Rajkumar, Roja Selvamani and Meera Jasmine in lead roles. This film is produced by Rockline Venkatesh. It is the remake of 2003 Telugu movie, Amma Nanna O Tamila Ammayi.
Namma Basava is a 2005 Indian Kannada-language film directed by Veera Shankar Bairisetty. It stars Puneeth Rajkumar and Gowri Munjal in the lead roles. Avinash, Sudha Rani, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Riyaz Khan and M. N. Lakshmi Devi feature in supporting roles. Gurukiran scored music for the film's background and soundtrack.
Paramathma is a 2011 Indian Kannada-language romantic comedy film written, directed and co-produced by Yogaraj Bhat. It stars Puneeth Rajkumar and Deepa Sannidhi in the lead roles and was released on 6 October 2011, on the eve of Vijayadashami. Halfway through its production, the film's TV rights was procured for a record ₹3.5 crore. Even before the release, the film grossed a record amount of over ₹25 Cr included broadcasting and distribution rights. Since release, the movie has garnered a cult status for its metaphorical narration and out-of-the box storytelling.
Hudugaru is a 2011 Kannada-language drama film directed by K. Madesh, starring Puneeth Rajkumar, Srinagar Kitty, Yogesh and Radhika Pandit in the lead roles. The film, which is a remake of the successful 2010 Tamil film Naadodigal, was produced by Parvathamma Rajkumar, with V. Harikrishna having composed the soundtrack and Satya Hegde was the cinematographer. The film released on 5 May 2011 and performed well at the box office similar to Puneeth's previous film Jackie.
The Dr. Vishnuvardhan Award, instituted in 2011 for the 2008–09 Karnataka State Film Awards is an award given by the government of Karnataka to long-serving film personalities in Kannada cinema. The award previously called Lifetime Contribution to Kannada Cinema Award, was named Dr. Vishnuvardhan Award in honour of Vishnuvardhan, one of Kannada cinema's actors, after his demise in 2009. The award carries a purse of ₹200,000 and a gold-plated plaque.
A. Harsha is an Indian film director and choreographer who works in Kannada cinema. Harsha has choreographed many popular songs.
Ninnindale is a 2014 Indian Kannada-language romantic comedy drama film directed by Jayanth C. Paranjee, in his directorial debut in Kannada cinema, and produced by Vijay Kirgandur under Hombale Films. The film's title is inspired by the track called Ninnindale from Puneeth Rajkumar's earlier film Milana. It stars Puneeth Rajkumar and Erica Fernandes, alongside Vinayak Joshi, Sonia Deepti, All Ok, Sadhu Kokila, Avinash Sringeri, Thilak Shekar, Bramhanandam and Shankar Melkote. The music was composed by Mani Sharma, while cinematography and editing were handled by P. G. Vinda and Marthand K. Venkatesh.
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.
Abhimanyu is a 2003 Indian Telugu film directed by A. Mallikarjun and produced by Aswini Dutt. The film stars Kalyan Ram, Ramya, Suhasini Mani Ratnam and Pawan Malhotra in lead roles. The film had musical score by Mani Sharma. The film was a remake of Kannada film Abhi (2003), which also starred Ramya.
Doddmane Hudga is a 2016 Indian Kannada-language action drama film co-written and directed by Duniya Soori, featuring Puneeth Rajkumar and Radhika Pandit. The film also features an ensemble cast of Ambareesh, Sumalatha, Bharathi Vishnuvardhan, Krishna, Srinivasa Murthy, and P. Ravi Shankar, with Shiva Rajkumar providing a voice-over. This film marks the 25th film of Puneeth Rajkumar in a lead role.
Anjani Putra is a 2017 Indian Kannada-language action film directed by A. Harsha and produced by M. N. Kumar. The film stars Puneeth Rajkumar, alongside Rashmika Mandanna, Ramya Krishna, Mukesh Tiwari, P. Ravi Shankar and Chikkanna. The music was composed by Ravi Basrur, while cinematography and editing were handled by Swamy J. and Deepu S. Kumar respectively. The film was a remake of director Hari's Tamil film Poojai.
