Pawan Kumar on Dvitva: Puneeth wanted to make good cinema; it’s our responsibility to make his dream come true

Back in September last year, Kannada filmmaker Pawan Kumar took to social media with an update about his health (he’d just had Covid) and his proposed film with Puneeth Rajkumar, Dvitva. Along with a selfie, with his back turned to a mirror, he wrote, “and the man in the mirror are absolutely FINE now... Loaded with antibodies! Both got busy with the preproduction of Dvitva and were away from social media. We forgot to update this earlier, leaving a few of you wondering if we made it through!!! Big thanks to everyone who had left messages checking about our wellbeing.”

Unfortunately for Pawan, just over a month later, Puneeth tragically passed away, making Dvitva a dream that will never be fulfilled. Dvitva, which was announced in July last year, would have been the Power Star’s third collaboration with Hombale Films, the production firm that kicked off movie making with his Ninnidale. Since its announcement, there was a lot of buzz surrounding the film, as industry insiders expected it to be far from the regular commercial film tropes, given Pawan’s filmography. It was widely thought to give Puneeth an image makeover and be a gamechanger in the Kannada industry, with the Power Star leading the way of stars doing ‘offbeat’ cinema.

Last night, on Puneeth’s first birthday since his demise, Pawan shared a screenshot of some of their Whatsapp exchanges, writing, “I still have our WhatsApp chats.. hadn't opened it for a long time.. but today.. i just wanted to hear his voice again. When I read his messages ... In my head it still plays out in his voice.. with his way of articulating those words. Just went through all the chats again .. and what I observed today.. is the number of times he has referred to me by my name.. not many do that .. but in most of his texts... He has typed "pavan" .. and I just want to treasure these two text exchanges here... And share with you all ... I am glad that all my memories with him have been about making great films... I am glad that he felt I was worthy to share those dreams with me.. it's a huge privilege. The man has left... But he told many of us his dreams... And maybe it is a responsibility to not just miss him or remember him.. but to make those dreams come true... Maybe that's why he kept telling it out .. so we know we got to do it. Make good cinema.. good work.. that's all he wanted to do.”

Is this Pawan’s way of saying that Dvitva will get made after all as a tribute to Puneeth’s wish of making good cinema?