A tribute to Dr Raj

Prem plans to release Raaj, starring Puneet Rajkumar, on April 24 but insists that the film is not based on the life and times of the icon of Kannada cinema

Prem plans to release Raaj, starring Puneet Rajkumar, on April 24 but insists that the film is not based on the life and times of the icon of Kannada cinema

Puneeth Rajkumar and Nisha Kothari come together in Raaj, a film directed by Prem, a huge Rajkumar fan. Prem has even scheduled the release of his film on April 24, Dr Raj's birthday.

He tells HiT LiST about the making of the film.

You requested residents of a locality in Mysore to go without power from 7 pm to 5 am because you wanted to film action scenes. Weren't they annoyed?
They were extremely co-operative. I don't think people in Bangalore would have obliged me! My plan was to film the action sequences at one go. We had ropes tied to tall buildings and trees. These ropes were very close to the power lines. To ensure safety, we made this request to the Mysore Electricity Board after we got the go-ahead from the public.

Stunt masters like Different Danny and Mass Maadhu were there to help us along the way. And Appu (Puneeth) was cooperation personified. He happily agreed to all the stunts and he's done a fantastic job.

We have used a motion control camera, which has been recently used in the Aamir Khan-starrer Ghajini.

Come closer: Puneeth and Nisha Kothariu00a0 pics/K N Nagesh Kumar

Cameraman Krishna's work is a high point of the film.

How much longer do the audience have to wait to catch all the action on screen?
There are two songs that we are yet to film. I want to shoot them in Canada, so I am working on the paper work and documentation for the unit's travel. We hope to leave for Canada soon. The music release was planned for Valentine's Day but was delayed. We will release the audio track by the end of the month. The dubbing is currently on at A R Rahman's studio in Chennai.

With Raaj, an action film, you are exploring a new track...
My earlier films were high on sentiment and emotion. But this one is an action film.

Is it based on the life and times of Dr Raj?
No, though I must I am greatly influenced by him as a person. My deep affection for Dr Raj prompted me to name my film after him. I spent a lot of time with him discussing my previous films. In fact, his family members tell me that Upendra and I were the two people who spent considerable time with Dr Raj in his final days. As a tribute to the iconic star, I have included an opening song in Raaj, where senior artistes Bharati, Jayanti, Jayapradha, Jayamala and Urvashi Dr Raj's heroines are seen on screen.

Otherwise, Raaj is a complete action film. Puneet has done full justice to his role, so I am confident that the masses and the classes will appreciate it.