When Gandhada Gudi trailer of Actor Puneeth Rajkumar was released, it was a teary moment for the ever-smiling actor’s wife Ashwini, his brothers, family, wildlife filmmaker Amoghavarsha, millions of his admirers, and his fans.
Widely acknowledged as Kannada cinema’s reigning star, this dream project of Puneet Gandhada Gudi is based on true events.
On October 27th this year Puneeth tweeted “A Story was born decades ago. Our people, the glory of our land. Our grass roots are spread all over the world. Inspiration for generations was indomitable. The Time has come to recount that history”
He visualized this spectacular wildlife, a nature inspiring project, along with Amoghavarsha JS, the Indian filmmaker and wildlife photographer.
The film’s title was released on December 6 to mark Puneet’s mother Parvathamma Rajkumar’s birth anniversary.
Puneeth Rajkumar’s wife Ashwini in an emotional tweet wrote “Appu’s dream, an incredible journey,” It is our responsibility to deliver this ‘Goodwill’ to everyone in the country. We thank you for your cooperation and encouragement.”
Gandhada Gudi – Appu’s dream – an incredible journey
In an emotional tweet, Shivraj, Puneeth’s elder brother wrote “Appu’s dream- an incredible journey, a celebration of our land and it’s legend ‘Gandhada Gudi’(sic),”
KGF star Yash, who unveiled the title on his social media platforms said, “I remember the twinkle in your eyes every time you spoke about this project. The passion, the enthusiasm you had towards this film showed how close it was to your heart. Thank you, Appu Sir, for showing our Gandhada Gudi through your eyes. It’s truly a paradise.” (sic).
Gandhada Gudi is backed by Ashwini Puneeth Rajkumar’s PRK Productions banner in association with Mudskipper. Coincidentally, Dr. Rajkumar’s film was the first Indian film on forest conservation ever with similar title in 1973. Nearly after fifty years, a film with the same title is expected to bring back the legacy of a film that inspired generations to care for forests and safeguard them.
Filmmaker Amoghavarsha during the launch of the teaser of Gandhada Gudi shared “This was Puneeth’s dream, and all the time, it has been a question to me whether I am doing justice to it. If he was alive, what he would have said to this. This is just a title teaser, and we have a long way to go,”
Gandhada Gudi – Watch the visual spectacle
Amoghavarsha mentions the rich visual spectacle and storytelling of the film are unique, and the audience will get a chance to see the towering actor, Puneeth Rajkumar, just as himself. “I still have one of the last messages sent by him, where he had requested me to remove the ‘Power Star’ tag because he wanted to be just himself in this film,” the film maker reveals. The director explains that Puneeth was a multifaceted personality, who loved to experiment, and Gandhada Gudi is one such example.
“It is a new genre of a film, with an enchanting cinematographic experience,” says Amogha, adding, “People can’t forget that legendary film, Gandhada Gudi which was made in 1973 and the legend that his father Dr Rajkumar was remembered for, when Puneeth and I met to finalise the title, we felt that Gandhada Gudi was the right title to pay a tribute, as the earlier Gandhada Gudi continues to inspire all of us. A lot of my mentors have joined the forest department after watching that film.,” says Amoghavarsha.
Puneeth had watched this Gandhada Gudi and was super excited to watching it in theatres. “We didn’t want to delay it further to bring this film on the silver screen,” says Amogha.
“I feel Puneeth is somewhere present with us. Every time I have a question, it is solved either through a phone call or some ideas, and I call it his guiding force. This is a film that is not limited to one state and needs to go out to the world.”
Gandhada Gudi – Watch the visual spectacle
Puneet, the son of yester year’s idol Dr. Rajkumar, is fondly known by his fans as ‘Appu’ and ‘Power Star’, made his screen debut when he was just six months old and went on to win a national award as a child artiste for the film ‘Bettada Hoovu’. He then re-emerged as a lead actor in 2002 and went on to star in 29 films, delivering some big hits in the Kannada film industry.