I feel like I am still wrapping my head around the news of Puneeth Rajkumar’s passing. I was in Tumkur earlier today for a shoot when I found out about it. I am headed back to the city to give my condolences.
Puneeth was a humble man.
When my first feature film, Aa Dinagalu, released in 2007, he called to tell me he liked it. It was an unlikely thing for a superstar to do. Normally, after a movie has been made, we schedule a premiere for the industry folk to see and share opinions. But with Puneeth, he saw the film, got my number, and called to tell me his thoughts on the film. It was so wonderful of him to do that. This was 14 years ago.
Though I wouldn’t say we were close friends, we were always in touch. I even sat with him during script development for one of his films. He felt I could give him valuable inputs for the script. One of the last times I spoke to him was when Sanchari Vijay passed away in June. I had texted him to tell him about Vijay’s passing and he immediately called to ask for more details. He wanted to know how he could help, if he should visit the hospital, and who else was there to to help. I remember putting him in touch with another director friend of mine who was with Vijay’s family at the time.
It’s this humbling behaviour of his that made him so loveable. Every year, they would have lunch at his home for his father, Rajkumar’s, birth anniversary. I’ve been there and interacted with him.
His humility translated to his work life too. I spoke to him quite recently to tell him I was happy to see him work in Pawan Kumar’s Dvitva. It was not a regular commercial film and Puneeth knew that too, but he still chose to work in the film because he wanted to push boundaries. He was aware of his stardom and what it could bring to the audience. Through his production house, he brought new talent and added his name behind new experiments. Dvitva was one such project. He was just getting started on trying new things and this happened.
He was one of the fittest in the industry. We were all in awe of his physique. Puneeth comes from a legacy, and his body of work has been amazing. He leaves behind a vacuum. He was a true legend.”
(As told to Anila Kurian)