Priya Anand remembers Puneeth Rajkumar: I will always treasure the time I spent with Appu

Actor Priya Anand has worked in several Malayalam, Hindi, Telugu and Kannada films. However, the best project, according to her, that she has ever worked on was Daring Raajakumara (2017), alongside late actor Puneeth Rajkumar.

“He was the best human I’ve ever come across. I’ve never met a person like him, old or young. His soul was way beyond his time,” says Anand.

Three years later, the two got together for James, which is set to release this month. “Everyone has a story with Appu (she lovingly addressed Rajkumar as Appu). From a heroine and producer to a spot boy or art assistant, everyone had a connection with him,” she continues, “What’s so special about Appu is that he would be very present when you’d spend time with him.”

Anand credits the late actor for teaching her everything she knows about Karnataka. From her first Kannada words to her first Kannadiga cuisine, she cherishes those learnings from him. “He’d recommend me places to visit. The stature or stardom that he had, he didn’t have to be so open and embrace others,” she opines.

The actor has faced a lot of personal losses in her life along the way, and the onset of Covid-19 and the passing of Rajkumar only made her realise how life is meant to be experienced. “I always knew life was unpredictable, like I lost my brother when I was shooting for Rajkumara, I lost my best friend as well. Even with someone as healthy and amazing as Appu, the same thing happened. You realise life is a joke, you just have to laugh and not take it so seriously,” she shares.

Meanwhile, talking about the kind of characters she’d like to play in the future, Anand says she is open to [playing] anything as long as the writing is good. “I am not very particular about wanting to play a girl-next-door or a nice girl, etc. Unfortunately, a lot of the time we don’t have writers so the characters are very one-dimensional or at the most two-dimensional.”

Citing an example of her 2012 Hindi project English Vinglish, Anand says it was with that film she realised how writing that was the most important thing. “With Sridevi’s comeback film, the writing was so good that everyone got recognised. Even someone like me was recognised, so were the people from different nationalities. You can never compromise on good writing,” she says.

However, there is one concept that she’s not likely to participate in. “What I don’t like is the influx of women-centric films. People are writing so many stories where a girl faces abuse and then she seeks revenge. It is disappointing, as that’s not the only female experience. Stories that are driven around a female protagonist are meant to be based on what is happening around her life. To limit a woman’s experience to just abuse in the name of empowerment is something I don’t subscribe to,” she notes.

Anand, who hails from Chennai, hopes to fly down to Bengaluru soon to watch the screening of James. “A lot of my childhood vacations were in Bengaluru. I love the city. And, thanks to Appu, I am obsessed with so many cuisines that Karnataka has to offer. I travelled quite a bit for James in Karnataka,” she says.

Ask her what she likes about the city, and the actor says, “I love how green it is, that’s one of the charms of the city. It’s very pro-nature, and I love Cubbon Park! I love the weather here, too. Bengaluru is just so welcoming of people from different states and those who speak different languages. It’s like a melting pot. And, it’s all done without a fuss.”