Puneeth Rajkumar will be last seen on the big screen in a documentary titled ‘ Gandhada Gudi’ on Karnataka’s forests, flora and fauna that will hit screens on October 28, to mark the first anniversary of his passing away. Puneeth Rajkumar passed away on October 29, 2021, after suffering a severe cardiac arrest. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has also announced that the State government will confer the late actor Karnataka Ratna award, the highest civilian award of the State, on November 1.
Ashwini Puneeth Rajkumar released the trailer of the documentary that went viral with over 2 million views on various social media handles. “Today is an emotional day for us as we are releasing the trailer of #GandhadaGudi, a project close to Appu’s heart,” she wrote on Twitter tagging Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, among several others. Mr. Modi, Mr. Bommai and others from the Indian film fraternity wished the film well.
“Appu lives in the hearts of millions around the world. He was brilliance personified, full of energy and blessed with unparalleled talent. #GandhadaGudi is a tribute to Mother Nature, Karnataka’s natural beauty and environmental conservation. My best wishes for this endeavour,” Mr. Modi tweeted.
When the actor died, three of his films were under production — his commercial potboiler James, Lucky Man in which he played a lengthy cameo, both of which released earlier this year, and the documentary Gandhada Gudi.
The trailer of the documentary, spearheaded by Amoghavarsha of Wild Karnataka fame and produced and presented by Puneeth Rajkumar, shows him and Amoghavarsha traverse through the verdant forests of the State and even underwater in the Arabian Sea. The film also includes a portion where Puneeth Rajkumar takes Amoghavarsha to the nondescript house in which his father thespian Dr. Rajkumar was born in Gajanur. Incidentally, the documentary is named after the iconic 1973 film Gandhada Gudi in which Dr. Rajkumar played the role of a forest officer fighting mafia exploiting the natural resources of the State’s forests.
