Dr. Puneeth Rajkumar, affectionately known as Appu, was an Indian film 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.
Gangaraju, professionally known as Hamsalekha, is an Indian film composer and songwriter who works in South Indian cinema, predominantly in the Kannada film industry since the late 1980s. He is also a screenplay writer, dialogue writer, instrumentalist and conductor, having composed and written over 500 albums.
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.
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.
Parvathamma Rajkumar was an Indian film producer and distributor. She was the wife and cousin of veteran Kannada actor Dr. Rajkumar. She produced successful films featuring him and their sons Shiva Rajkumar, Puneeth Rajkumar and Raghavendra Rajkumar under the production house named "Poornima Enterprises". Actresses who found fame in her productions include Malashri, Prema, Rakshita, Sudha Rani and Ramya. She was awarded a doctorate by Bangalore University.
Eradu Nakshatragalu is a 1983 Indian Kannada-language film, directed by Singeetham Srinivasa Rao. The film stars Rajkumar, Ambika and Puneeth Rajkumar. The movie is famous for its evergreen songs which were composed by G. K. Venkatesh. The plot of the movie is based on the popular novel The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain. Puneeth Rajkumar played a double role in the movie and remains his only double-role movie in which both the characters appear together on-screen.
Rana Vikrama is a 2015 Indian Kannada-language action thriller film written and directed by Pavan Wadeyar. It stars Puneeth Rajkumar, Anjali, Adah Sharma, Dinesh Mangalore, Vikram Singh, Girish Karnad, Avinash, Sudha Belawadi and Mukhyamantri Chandru. The soundtrack of the film was released on 21 March 2015.
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.
Prema Yuddham is a 1990 Telugu-language romance film produced by P. Vijaya Kumari under the Anupama Arts banner, directed by S. V. Rajendra Singh Babu. It stars Nagarjuna, Amala Akkineni with music composed by Hamsalekha. The film was simultaneously shot in Kannada as Bannada Gejje, with V. Ravichandran. The film was dubbed into Tamil as Idhaya Geetham and in Hindi as Prem Jung.
Hrudaya Hrudaya is a 1999 Kannada-language romantic drama film directed by M. S. Rajashekar and produced by Parvathamma Rajkumar. The film stars Shiva Rajkumar, Ramesh Aravind and Anu Prabhakar, making her debut, whilst Sharath Babu, Avinash and Chitra Shenoy play the supporting roles. The film was a box office success.
Rudra Tandava is a 2015 Indian Kannada-language action film directed by Guru Deshpande, and is a remake of the 2013 Tamil film Pandiya Naadu. It stars Chiranjeevi Sarja and Radhika Kumaraswamy in the lead roles. P. Ravi Shankar, Girish Karnad and Krishna feature in supporting roles. The film tells the story about how Shivaraj (Sarja), a regular man avenges the killing of his brother by the local mafia. The film upon theatrical release on 27 February 2015 received mixed reviews from critics.
Simhada Mari (transl. Lionet) is a 1997 Indian Kannada-language action drama film directed by Om Prakash Rao and produced by Ramu. The film stars Shiva Rajkumar, Telugu actor Krishnam Raju and Simran. The flash back portion which is considered to be the heart of this movie went on to be reused in the Telugu movie Aadi. The film's score and soundtrack was scored by Hamsalekha and the cinematography was by T. Janardhan.
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, P. Ravi Shankar, Rangayana Raghu, Chikkanna and Avinash, with Shiva Rajkumar providing a voice-over. This film marks the 25th film of Puneeth Rajkumar in a lead role.
Puneeth Rajkumar was an Indian actor known for his work in Kannada films. As a six-month-old infant, he made a cameo appearance in V. Somashekar's Premada Kanike (1976) and followed it with Sanaadi Appanna (1977) when he was a year old. Most of his earlier films had his father Rajkumar playing his reel father as well. Films like Thayige Thakka Maga, Vasantha Geetha and Bhagyavantha followed up which also showcased his singing skills. For the N. Lakshminarayan film Bettada Hoovu he was awarded the National Film Award for Best Child Artist. He ended his childhood appearances with the action film Parashuram.
Raajakumara is a 2017 Indian Kannada-language action drama film written and directed by Santhosh Ananddram and produced by Vijay Kiragandur under Hombale Films. It stars Puneeth Rajkumar and Priya Anand. R. Sarathkumar, Ananth Nag, Prakash Raj, Chikkanna, Sadhu Kokila, Achyuth Kumar and Avinash play supporting roles. The film's music album was composed by V. Harikrishna.
Bangara s/o Bangarada Manushya is a 2017 Indian Kannada-language action drama film directed by Yogi G. Raj and produced by Jayanna and Bhogendra under Jayanna Combines. It features Shiva Rajkumar and Vidya Pradeep, making her debut in Kannada films, in the lead roles. Whilst the soundtrack and score is by V. Harikrishna, the cinematography is by Jai Anand.
Nuggehalli Rangaraj Prithviraj is an Indian actor who appeared in Kannada films and Kannada television serials. He appeared in over 116 films and 64 television serials in his four-decade-long career.
James is a 2022 Indian Kannada-language action drama film directed by Chethan Kumar and produced by Kishore Pathikonda under Kishore Productions. It stars Puneeth Rajkumar in the titlular role, along with an ensemble cast of R. Sarathkumar, Srikanth, Priya Anand, Anu Prabhakar, Madhusudhan Rao, Mukesh Rishi, Adithya Menon, Avinash, Sadhu Kokila, Chikkanna and John Kokken. The film marks Puneeth Rajkumar's posthumous appearance following his death on 29 October 2021 and also marked the second collaboration between Puneeth Rajkumar, Priya Anand and Sarathkumar after Raajakumara (2017). The score and soundtrack were composed by V. Harikrishna and Charan Raj, while the cinematography and editing were handled by Swamy. J. Gowda and Deepu. S. Kumar.
Latha, commonly known as Latha Hamsalekha, is an Indian playback singer in Kannada. She is the wife of composer Hamsalekha. For her song Aa Arunodaya Chanda in the movie Arunodaya, Latha was awarded the Karnataka State Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer in 1999–2000.
Yuvarathnaa is the soundtrack album composed by S. Thaman for the 2021 Indian Kannada-language film of the same name, starring Puneeth Rajkumar. The film marks Thaman's third collaboration with Puneeth after working with him in Power (2014) and Chakravyuha (2016).
