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.
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 music was composed by Gurukiran, while the cinematography and editing werw handled by H. C. Venu and T. Shashikumar 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.
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.
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.
Munjane is a 2012 Indian Kannada-language romantic drama film starring Ganesh and Manjari Phadnis. The film was written, produced and directed by S. Narayan, who also composed and written the songs and also acted in the film. Dharma Vish has scored the background music. Narayan's wife, Bhagyavathi Narayan has produced the venture under his home banner. Jagadish Wali is the cinematographer. The film opened across Karnataka cinema halls on 2 March 2012.
Hoovu Hannu is a 1993 Indian Kannada-language drama film based on the novel by Triveni of the same name. The film stars Lakshmi, Ajay Gundu Rao, Vyjayanthi and Baby Shamili. It was directed by Rajendra Singh Babu and produced by Vaibhava Lakshmi Productions. The music and lyrics were written and composed by Hamsalekha. The film was a musical hit and won many awards including the Karnataka State Film Awards and Filmfare Awards South. Veteran cinematographer V. K. Murthy worked in this film and won many accolades for his work. The film failed at box-office.
Rayara Sose is a 1957 Indian Kannada-language film produced by Pandari Bai and directed by R. Ramamurthy and K. S. Murthy. It stars Rajkumar, Kalyan Kumar, Mynavathi, H. Ramachandra Shastry, Pandari Bai and Ramadevi. The music of the film was composed by R. Diwakara. This movie has S. Janaki's first released Kannada film song Thaalalentho Shokavega. The movie speaks against the evil practice of dowry. This is Rajkumar's first social drama movie. The movie was based on a Marathi play.
Ninnindale is an 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 the banner of Hombale Films. The film stars Puneeth Rajkumar and Erica Fernandes in the lead roles. The soundtrack and original score is composed by Mani Sharma. The film's title is inspired by the track called "Ninnindale" from Puneeth Rajkumar's earlier venture Milana.
Bahaddur is a 2014 Indian Kannada-language masala film directed by Chethan Kumar and produced by R. Srinivas. The film stars Dhruva Sarja and Radhika Pandit in the lead roles. The supporting cast features P. Ravi Shankar, Achyuth Kumar, Jai Jagadish, and Srinivasa Murthy. It was released on 3 October 2014, in 7.1 surround sound, the first in Kannada cinema. The 2016 Telugu movie Srirastu Subhamastu was reported to have been heavily inspired by the core plot of this movie.
Rowdy Aliya is a 2004 Kannada comedy - action film directed and written by Om Sai Prakash and produced by Neha. The film features Shiva Rajkumar and Priyanka Trivedi in the lead roles along with Jaimala and Chaya Singh in other pivotal roles.
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.
Krishna-Rukku is a 2016 Indian Kannada-language romance film written and directed by Anil Kumar and produced by Uday K. Mehta. It stars Ajay Rao and Amulya in the lead roles. The film's music is composed by Sridhar V. Sambhram and cinematography is by Jagadish Wali.
Santheyalli Nintha Kabira is a 2016 Indian Kannada-language epic biopic-drama film adapted from Bhisham Sahni's Hindi play Kabira Khada Bazaar Mein. The film is directed Indra Babu of Kabbadi fame. Original story by Bhisham Sahni was adapted and the screenplay is written in Kannada by Indra Babu and Gopal Wajpeyi. Starring Shiva Rajkumar as the protagonist Kabir, the film is about the life of the mystic 15th-century poet. It also stars Sanusha and Sarath Kumar in other pivotal roles. The film was launched on the Ugadi festival day of 2015 and is slated to release on 29 July 2016.
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.
Natasaarvabhowma is a 2019 Indian Kannada-language horror thriller film written and directed by Pavan Wadeyar and produced by Rockline Venkatesh. The film stars Puneeth Rajkumar, Anupama Parameswaran, and Rachita Ram in lead roles. P. Ravi Shankar play the antagonist role, Chikkanna and Sadhu Kokila play supporting roles, whilst B. Saroja Devi makes a guest appearance.
Yuvarathnaa is a 2021 Indian Kannada-language action drama film directed by Santhosh Ananddram and produced by Vijay Kiragandur under the banner of Hombale Films. The film stars Puneeth Rajkumar, Sayyeshaa, Dhananjay, Prakash Raj, Diganth and P. Sai Kumar. The music was composed by S. Thaman, while the cinematography and editing was handled by A. Venkatesh and Jnaanesh B. Matad respectively.
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.
