Premium12 times Power Star Puneeth Rajkumar brought a popular actress to Kannada cinema
Actresses like Meera Jasmine, Bhavana, Trisha and Priya Anand, among others, made their Sandalwood debuts opposite the late Puneeth Rajkumar
Last Updated: 06.32 PM, Mar 11, 2025
In his 30-odd films as a leading man, Kannada cinema’s Power Star Puneeth Rajkumar had the distinction of either working with a debutante, or of bringing a popular name from across the border to Sandalwood. For instance, while Rakshita made her film debut opposite Puneeth in Appu, which re-released in theatres for his 50th birth anniversary, he followed that up with Abhi, which brought Mohaka Taare Ramya into the industry.
In the years that followed, Puneeth often worked with known names from, Hindi, Malayalam and Tamil cinema, like Anita Hassanandani, Meera Jasmine, Gowri Munjal, Anuradha Mehta, Parvathy Thiruvothu, Hansika Motwani, Priyanka Kothari, Bhavana, Trisha, Adah Sharma, Priya Anand, Sayyeshaa, with some getting to collaborate with him on a second film as well.
Here’s a look at the Puneeth Rajkumar-led films that had ‘imported’ heroines and where to watch them on OTT
Veera Kannadiga
Written by Puri Jagannadh, who’d directed Puneeth Rajkumar’s debut film Appu, Veera Kannadiga brought Anita Hassanandani to Kannada cinema. The film was simultaneously made in Telugu as Andhrawala with Jr NTR in the lead.
Streaming platform: Zee5 and/or OTTPlay Premium
Maurya
This sports drama directed by S Narayan, was the Kannada remake of Puri Jagannadh’s Telugu film Amma Nanna O Tamila Ammayi. The film brought Malayalam actress Meera Jasmine to Sandalwood. Maurya was the fourth back-to-back 100-day film in Puneeth’s career. Meera also did Arasu with Puneeth, which is available on Sun NXT and/or OTTPlay Premium.
Streaming platform: JioHotstar
Namma Basava
Model-turned-actress Gowri Munjal, who’d shot to fame with her debut film Bunny, opposite Allu Arjun, was paired with Puneeth in Namma Basava. The film opened to mixed reviews and yet managed to have a 100-day run at 25 centres.
Streaming platform: JioHotstar
Ajay
Yet another Allu Arjun heroine, Anuradha Mehta (of Arya fame), came to Kannada cinema with Ajay, directed by Meher Ramesh. Ajay was the Kannada remake of the Telugu film Okkadu, which had Mahesh Babu in the lead.
Streaming platform: Amazon Prime Video
Milana
Director Veer Prakash paired Malayalam actress Parvathy Thiruvothu in this romantic drama, for which Puneeth won a Karnataka State Film Award for Best Actor. The film was dubbed in Malayalam as Ishtam Enikkishtam. Parvathy reunited with Puneeth for Jacob Varghese’s Prithvi.
Streaming platform: Zee5 and/or OTTPlay Premium.
Bindaas
D Rajendra Babu’s action comedy introduced Hansika Motwani to Kannada audiences. A box office success, Bindaas was dubbed in Telugu, Hindi and Malayalam and even got a Bhojpuri remake. Critics, though, were not too enthused by the film, dubbing it a routine commercial entertainer.
Streaming platform: YouTube
Raaj – The Showman
Priyanka Kothari was Puneeth’s heroine in the action entertainer directed by Prem. While the filmmaker’s showmanship was lauded in terms of the music and the cinematography, critics bashed the lack of a coherent story.
Streaming platform: Sun NXT and/or OTTPlay Premium
Jackie
Duniya Soori’s first film with Puneeth was produced by the actor’s mother, Parvathamma Rajkumar. Initial reports suggested that audiences were not sure of what to make of the characterisation, given that the actor was given a more rustic role, which was very different from what he’d done until then. The film had Puneeth paired with Malayalam actress Bhavana, who united yet again for Yaare Koogadalli, which was the last film Parvathamma produced for Puneeth.
Streaming platform: Sun NXT and/or OTTPlay Premium
Power***
Trisha Krishnan came to Kannada cinema with the Kannada remake of Dookudu, called Power***. Also making a Sandalwood debut with the film was music composer S Thaman, who made Puneeth sing the hit number Guruvara Sanje. Trisha had been roped in to work on Puneeth’s film with Pawan Kumar, Dvitva, but his tragic passing meant that that was not to be.
Streaming platform: Sun NXT and/or OTTPlay Premium
Rana Vikrama
Govindaya Namaha and Googly fame Pavan Wadeyar’s film with Puneeth brought Adah Sharma to Kannada cinema. She has, since, not come back to Sandalwood.
Streaming platform: Sun NXT and/or OTTPlay Premium
Raajakumara
Director Santhosh Ananddram’s maiden collaboration with Puneeth had the actor paired with English Vinglish fame Priya Anand. Produced by Hombale Films, who began their filmi journey with Ninnindale, starring Puneeth, Raajakumara ran for 100-days at nearly 50 centres. Priya was Puneeth’s heroine in his last film as leading man, James, which is streaming on Sony LIV.
Streaming platform: Sun NXT and/or OTTPlay Premium
Yuvarathnaa
Santhosh Ananddram’s second film with Puneeth, had a short theatrical stint owing to Covid-19 pandemic restrictions. The film brought Sayyeshaa to Kannada cinema.
Streaming platform: Amazon Prime Video