Puneet-Yograj Bhat, a winning combination

A BSc gold medallist, who lives life on his own terms that is Puneet Rajkumar's role in Kannada film Paramathma. In his very first venture with star director Yograj Bhat, Puneet plays Param, a guy who follows his heart. How? Simply by spending ten years after graduating from college trying his hand at five or six vocations.

From trekking in the Himalayas, trading in the Mumbai share market, visiting China to learn Kung fu, doing some carpentry to getting involved in the betting mafia -- the man does it all.

Param is a happy-go-lucky guy who has the full support of his father. He too believes that following one's heart is like listening to God.

It is the listen-to-your heart attitude of Puneet that makes him fall easily in love with Deepa (Deepa Sanidhi). Once this happens, winning her over becomes Param's one and only aim. He is determined that she should reciprocate his feelings even if it means tackling her crazy family.

Will Param and Deepa get together?

Like always, will he have his way or will Sanvi (Aindrita Ray), who's had a liking for Param since their college days, win him over? 

The climax of the film will appeal to young and old alike. Director Bhat is also confident about the performances of lead actors Puneet, Deepa and Aindrita.

"Puneet has done a fabulous job with the dubbing as well. The way he has spoken Kannada in this film is the highlight."

Actor Rangayana Raghu who is part of the cast is also all praise for the actor. "He is commitment personified. He used to shoot till late in the night and still arrive early on the sets the next day. Once he went on a walk and came back stung by bees. He camouflaged his swollen eyes with glasses and insisted that we go ahead with the shooting."

Raghu was generous with his compliments for his director too. "Yograj's films are a befitting reply to other language films. His films click as the native element is high." 

Puneet's brother Raghavendra Rajkumar also is looking forward to the film. "Puneet always wanted to work with Yograj. Things hadn't worked out on three previous occasions. But with Paramathma, everything fell into place."

He further added, "Yograj is very involved in the movie-making process and this is what endears him to us. His attitude of sharing his success with his team mates, Suri (also a director), music director Harikrishna, and lyricist Jayanth Kaikini, is also great. He reminds me of my father who also believed in sharing his success. Yograj is a hit maker and I wish he gives each and every actor in this industry a Mungaru Male."

Like Raghavendra said, Yograj doesn't forget to acknowledge the contributions of Suri and Harikrishna to Paramathma. "Once I discussed the story with Suri, he was after me to put it on paper. He took me and my team to Kundapur and made sure that I wrote the script even if it was between games of cricket! When you have Puneet's dates, every story seems good, but Suri was there to give me constant and useful inputs. The precursor to a film's success is its music. Harikrishna has thus made my job easy. The music of Jackie has set a standard and we had to live up to it and he has done his job well this time too."

Music is definitely the high point of this film and, as Harikrishna notes, humour rules the roost in most songs. Kathlalli karadi . Yavanagi gottu?... and College gatealli are fast becoming popular. The romantic number Paravashavadenu is slowly climbing up the music charts.

Puneet's performance in the film is also expected to raise standards. So, what does the actor have to say about his acting? "My director says he is happy with my performance and that means I have done a good job," he says modestly. Having Ananth Nag as co-star also helped him, he adds. "I play his son in the film and it's our first film together. It was great working with him. He often spoke of my father and we used to discuss cinema. I spent quality time with him."