The Kannada actor Puneeth Rajkumar was much more than a star for many Kannada film fans. The Power Star, as he was referred to, enjoyed respect and love that went beyond mere film fandom. And when he died last October, at an untimely age of 46, the outpouring of grief and sadness from the public was genuine. Puneeth Rajkumar and his illustrious family had touched the lives of Kannadigas in myriad ways.
So, when his last film James released posthumously --- as it happens, on his birth date of March 17 --- the emotion was bitter-sweet. People were happy to see him on screen, but equally sad that he will not be around to entertain them any more.
The action film --- something which Puneeth was known for --- was a resounding hit as fans thronged the theatres in countless number.
The Kannada entertainer has now got the release date for streaming on OTT platform.
SonyLIV's major foray into Kannada films
James will stream on SonyLiv from April 14. The platform, which is slowly improving its slate of content from the southern film industries, has hitherto focused on Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu.
It is appropriate that its takes its big plunge in Kannada through James. For, the film is a larger-than-life quick-paced masala pot-boiler. The story is centered around a drug cartel. Puneeth plays Santhosh Kumar aka James, and runs a security agency called J Wings. He is hired to rescue a rich businessman's daughter. And he succeeds in his mission. And this lands him another assignment: To provide security to a rich family. But things are not what they seem to be on the surface. There is more to it than what meets the eye. And Santosh too has a past. It all leads to an intense and absorbing climax.
This Chethan Kumar directorial also features Priya Anand, Meka Srikanth, Anu Prabhakar Mukherjee, Sarath Kumar among others.
Puneeth's brother Shivarajkumar has dubbed for him. Both Shivarajkumar and the other brother Raghavendra Rajkumar have played cameos in the movie.
It is impossible to watch the movie without getting emotional. And you don't have to be a Kannadiga to experience that.
