Sunday, May 31, 2009

Kannada star Puneet Raj Kumar to dance with dad's heroines

Kannada actor Puneet Raj Kumar's forthcoming film 'Raaj - The Showman' is set to have an interesting dance sequence where he will shake a leg with yesteryears heroines who had worked with his father, the late Rajkumar.

According to sources close to the project, the dance sequence would feature actress-turned-MP Jayaprada, Jayamala, who is now president of the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce, multilingual actress Ambika, Roopa Devi and Bharathi Vishnuvardhan.

The song is likely to be shot from Jan 4 in Bangalore, the sources added.

Director Prem, who is known for having delivered three superhits in a row, confirmed that a song featuring Puneet and the actresses who had acted opposite Kannada acting legend Rajkumar would indeed be shot.

He said Jayaprada would be part of the song in 'Raaj - The Showman', but refused to reveal the names of the other heroines.

'The song was to have been shot early. But because Jayaprada madam was busy canvassing for the Samajawadi Party in several northern states, we had to postpone the song shooting,' said Prem.

'Raaj - The Showman' is said to be one of the costliest Kannada films and Puneet would be seen in different get-ups in the movie. According to informed sources, the film's budget is estimated to be anywhere between Rs.80 million and Rs.100 million.

Bollywood actress Nisha Kothari is the lead actress of the film, which has been shot extensively in Mysore, Bangalore and Kodagu. Two songs of the film have been picturised in scenic locales in Europe.

The film's music has been composed by Hari Krishna and its audio release is set to be held in Dubai.

Kannada film to be shot in South Africa, Iceland

The much-awaited Kannada film 'Raaj, The Showman', which has popular actor Puneet Rajkumar in the lead, will now be shot in South Africa and Iceland as well.

The movie's 35-member team will move to South Africa June 7 to start shooting a song titled 'Hey Paro' in Durban and Johannesburg among other places.

The audio of the film, composed by Hari Krishna, has been released to a good response and only two songs are left to be canned. Made by hugely successful director Prem, 'Raaj, The Showman' is likely to be released July 31.


The film was launched April 24, 2008, but the shooting schedule saw many halts. First, heroine Priyanka Kothari, earlier known as Nisha Kothari, fractured her leg. Then she got busy with Bollywood filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma's upcoming film 'Rann'.

The unit had planned to shoot two songs in Canada earlier in May but that got cancelled because of the swine flu outbreak.

'We are shooting for 12 days in South Africa for the 'Hey Paro' song. The song has become a huge hit in audio circles and the expectations among fans have skyrocketed,' said producer Sreenivasa Murthy, who has earlier produced the 2007 blockbuster 'Gaja'. He revealed that 20 South African dancers would be included for the song's shoot.

Murthy added that the unit would then proceed to Iceland for shooting one more song.

Director Prem said the film would be digitally graded and it would be technically at par with big budget Hindi flicks.

'We want to showcase the abundance of technical talent in the Kannada film industry through the film. The film has been made with rich production values, but I can assure you that the film's script possesses a lot of strength to attract all sections of audience,' Prem said.

The main highlight of 'Raaj, The Showman' is a song that features Puneet Rajkumar dancing with five leading ladies who had worked with his father, legendary Kannada actor Rajkumar.

The film has also been in the news because this is the first time director Prem and Puneet Rajkumar are working together.