S Thaman, Santhosh Ananddram and Vijay Prakash come together for Puneeth Rajkumar tribute song

Popular Telugu-Tamil composer S Thaman ventured into Kannada cinema with the 2014 Puneeth Rajkumar-starrer, Power, which was the remake of Dookudu. Thaman got Puneeth to sing the song Guruvara Sanjege, which was not only one of the most popular numbers from the album, but also went on to get the actor-singer a Filmfare Award nomination for Best Singer. In the years thereafter, Thaman came back to Sandalwood for Chakravyuha, Zoom, Orange and Yuvarathnaa, and got Puneeth to sing in all but Orange.

While he got Puneeth to croon Yenaithu in Chakravyuha, Zoom, which was a Ganesh-starrer, had the Power Star singing his introduction number, Raja Di Raja. Puneeth’s last release before his tragic passing, Yuvarathnaa saw him sing Oorigobba Raja. After a very fruitful collaboration, it was only apt that Thaman would be roped in to compose a tribute to the late actor.

This time around, Hombale Films, who began their Kannada film production with Ninnindale, starring Puneeth, and then did two others – Raajakumara and Yuvarathnaa – with him, are backing a tribute number written by Raajakumara director Santhosh Ananddram, composed by Thaman and sung by Vijay Prakash, which will be released on the late actor’s birthday, March 17, at 11 am. The song will be released on the Hombale Films Youtube channel. Taking to social media, Santhosh had written, "A tribute song to Appu sir @PuneethRajkumar will be live on March 17 th On Hombale you tube channel❤️ Written by Me & song has been sung by @rvijayprakash sir & it will be a unplugged song by @MusicThaman #Staytuned #Appusirliveson."

While this will, no doubt, be a major treat for Puneeth fans, the big highlight of the day is the release of his last commercial film, James, which, with over 4,000 screens is one of the biggest Kannada releases. James will hit theatres in Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi, with a simultaneous world-wide release.