Kannada star Shiva Rajkumar enjoys the same level of stardom, love and respect that fans have for his deceased brother, the late Puneeth Rajkumar. The two brothers, who have given Sandalwood one hit after another, were known for their closeness and the mutual bond.
While today marks 8 months since Puneeth’s passing, his fans are still coming to terms with his demise. And now, Shiva Rajkumar is gearing up for his first release, post his brother’s demise. Notably, his last film Bhajarangi 2 had released on the same day that Puneeth passed away, October 29 last year.
His next offering Bairagee is slated to release on July 1. The brothers were known to promote each other’s films whenever one of their movies was ready to hit the theatres. Both of them even took part in extensive promotions for their third brother Raghavendra Rajkumar’s film Rajatantra before it was released last year. However, the void felt by Shiva Rajkumar while promoting Bairagee without his brother remains prominent.
In an earlier interview with Times of India, Shiva Rajkumar talked about how he was still in denial about Puneeth’s death. “Like the rest of the family, I continue to be in denial. There are times when I feel like life is so unpredictable and attempt to accept the truth; then there are others when I reject this and feel like he is still calling me “Shivanna,” refusing to believe that this has happened. I honestly have no idea how I get through the days,” he said.
Vijay Milton, former cinematographer turned director who is helming the movie, finished shooting Bairagee in the middle of January. According to the crew, the movie, which is funded by Krishna Sarthak, is a Kannada adaptation of the Tamil film Asuran, but much of the plot has been changed to appeal to the Kannada audience.
