Puneeth Parva: Massive tribute event in Bengaluru for actor's first death anniversary

A massive crowd is expected to flock to the heart of Bengaluru on October 21 (Friday) to attend the grand ‘Puneeth Parva’ event, held to mark the first death anniversary of Kannada film industry’s beloved Power Star, the late Puneeth Rajkumar and the release of his last film, Gandhada Gudi on October 28.

The event, which has been organised by Dr Rajkumar’s family, along with their fan associations, will be held at the Palace Grounds (Krishna Vihar entrance) in Bengaluru.

Dr Rajkumar’s family has generously issued an open invitation to the people of the state to join the grand party. Nobody besides VIPs, VVIPs and media personnel require passes or tickets. The programme will commence at 6.30 pm and is expected to go on till 10 pm. Free food has been organised for every single person who attends the event.

The entire Kannada film industry and many superstars from Telugu, Tamil, and Malayalam are expected to grace the event and pay their tributes to ‘Appu’, as Puneeth was fondly called. It is expected to be a star-studded event as actors like Yash, Upendra, Rakshit Shetty, Ramesh Arvind, Ganesh, Duniya Vijay, Sai Kumar, Ravishankar Gowda and many more have already agreed to be part of the event.

Some of the big names from the neighbouring industries, such as Kamal Haasan, Prabhu Deva, Suriya, Balakrishna and Rana Daggubatti have also confirmed their presence.

Sources said that eyebrows were raised when Kannada superstar Kichcha Sudeep said he would not be able to attend the event. Jack Manjunath Gowda, producer and manager of Kichcha Sudeep, however, said he would have definitely attended the event, but Sudeep is already with his wife in Australia to celebrate his wedding anniversary and attend the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

Also read: Puneeth Rajkumar to be honoured with Karnataka Ratna on Nov 1

Security beefed up to avoid fan club wars

Thousands of volunteers, fans, and bouncers are being deployed for security reasons. Police security will be beefed up to avoid any untoward incidents.

“We have been very careful while organising the event. We don’t want people to rush near the stage and so not more than 2,000 people are allowed in between two sets of barricades. Our team will be keeping a close eye on guests as some fear fan fights could break out. We understand that some stars cannot make it to the event due to their personal commitments, but that should not be a reason for any fan wars anywhere. Hope they understand the significance of the event and also respect everyone around them,” said one event organiser.

The event will provide a glimpse into Appu’s last film, the 90-minute docudrama, Gandhada Gudi. The late actor had travelled extensively across Karnataka, along with director Amoghavarsha JS for more than a year, to work on this film. They had travelled to every single forest in the state to explore the wildlife, culture, land, cuisines and lifestyle of people living in the thick jungles of the state.

Also Watch: The life and legacy of Kannada superstar Puneeth Rajkumar

According to Amoghavarsha , Puneeth wanted to explore Gandada Gudi like a common man and chose to stay away from make-up and use any facilities like a caravan inside the jungles. Puneeth had a special request for the director when the latter sent him a first-cut showreel of the docudrama. “We had used his honorary title ‘Power Star’ in the opening cards and Appu sir called me and requested me to remove the title ‘Power Star’. He wanted to show this film to his audience like a common man,” director Amoghavarsha JS told The Federal.

Meanwhile, Puneeth Rajkumar’s wife Ashwini Puneeth Rajkumar and niece Yuva Rajkumar are leaving no stone unturned to make ‘Puneeth Parva’ a grand and memorable moment. The local police expect about 20,000 fans to grace the event, but sources close to the family say, it could be more. Ashwini took to Twitter to urge people to wear white for the event.

Also read: Karnataka bids teary farewell to Puneeth Rajkumar

Rain could play spoilsport

While the preparations for the event are in full swing, the organisers are praying to the rain gods not to act as a spoiler. Bangalore is witnessing unprecedented rains this year and IMD has projected heavy rain for a few more days in the city.

Puneeth Rajkumar passed away after a cardiac arrest on October 29, 2021.