Unmatched Super stardom of Puneeth Rajkumar! The Man with a Golden Heart!
Like A Young Hemanth, there must be several people whom Appu Sir must have touched. Such humility and generosity can only be found in genuine people, and Puneeth Rajkumar proved time and again what a powerhouse of talent as well as an overflowing heart he was.
Greatness is shown by megastar towards an upcoming artist or director, especially to the extent when the senior artist remembers you always, what is acknowledged months and years later, especially when the kind-hearted soul is not amongst you, anymore.
Such is the case with upcoming Director Hemanth Rao, who was once new to the field and was working as an assistant on Jacob Verghese’s film ‘Prithvi’ in the year 2010. The movie had a stellar cast like Puneeth Rajkumar and Parvathy Thiruvothu, and they had completed a schedule in Jordan and were en route to Bengaluru, when Hemanth, the novice, received the kindest gesture from none other than Puneeth who had traveled back with the crew, but of course in the business class.
Fondly known as Appu Sir, Hemanth recalls the incident when all had disembarked but suddenly the star had vanished. As the crew members prepared to leave the airport, Hemanth, received a soft tap on his shoulders, and there in front of him, Puneeth was standing with a sleek music player in his hand, as a gift for the assistant director as well as another AD who had been a part of the shoot. Simple words like, ‘This is for you Hemanth. You guys did such a good job’, dumbfounded the Ads. It was a really heart-touching thing for a star to notice the work of an AD, who is just fresh in the industry, and especially go out of the way to purchase a gift himself to show his appreciation. This way, Appu found a way to the heart so close that Hemanth cannot ever forget.
This was just the beginning of a relationship that simply became stronger with each passing event, and Hemanth got so connected with the superstar, that whether it was a mail, the man with the golden heart always made it a point to revert and encouraged the young director.
At the time when Hemanth was at the helm of his first film, with no known faces or stars, Puneeth took out the time despite his travel plans and came for the muhurtam. Appu Sir was such that he made not only the actors comfortable but praised Hemanth in front of the media as well.
Though the first film did not take off, Hemanth was ready with ‘Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu’, and again he wanted to arrange a special screening for Appu Sir, but surprisingly, Puneeth had already watched the film privately, and there came another kind gesture with Appu recording a video with a message for Hemanth and sent it saying ‘See if this helps.
The rest became history for Hemanth when he directed ‘Kavaludaari’, and Puneeth was all along with him and guiding him. Hemanth reminisces, ‘It was one of the best days of my life.
But now with the tragic death of the super actor with a golden heart, Hemanth cannot get over the loss even as he drives around and sees the photos of Appu Sir with garlands, he says it’s hard for him to believe that Puneeth Rajkumar is no more. He believes very firmly that the megastar will live on, always.