Kannada filmdom’s Power Star Puneet Rajkumar has shot off a letter to Bangalore Mirror, demanding to know how they could suggest that he did not speak Kannada.
On August, 10, Bangalore Mirror published a report that suggested Puneet Rajkumar a.k.a Appu, does not know to read Kannada. In response, the Sandalwood actor has written to the newspaper asking it to refrain from carrying “frivolous” pieces about him, and instead use the space to write more “constructive things”.
He has asked the Editor to publish his letter, along with an apology, on the front page of the newspaper, failing which he would take legal action. However, the wish of the actor remains half-fulfilled as Mirror carried a small note publishing a portion of the actor's letter, without an apology.
In its gossip column Code 560, Mirror had carried a report about a party that Puneet had attended a karaoke birthday party last week, during which he had said that allegedly blurted not that he did not know how to speak Kannada. According to the report, “the torch-bearer of the Rajkumar legacy, practically committed a blunder” by saying, “I can't read Kannada” when asked to sing by reading from the teleprompter.
On Tuesday, actor Rakshit Shetty shared a letter written by Puneet on his Facebook wall, in which the latter lambastes the Editor of Bangalore Mirror for carrying the “irresponsible and mischievous” report.
“I don’t have anything to prove to you, but please don’t resort to personality bashing simply to sell a few extra copies,” he says in the letter.
The actor said that though he did his schooling in Chennai, as was well-known, he is a proud Kannadiga who can read and write Kannada fluently. Puneet brought up his work in the television game show “Kannadada Kotyadipati” in which he says, he read out questions written in Kannada.
Director of the show Raghavendra Hunsur came out in support of the actor via a Facebook post saying he personally knew how well-versed the actor was in reading and writing Kannada. He criticized what he called, the “spit and run” attitude of the newspaper.
The actor and Editor of Bangalore Mirror could not be reached despite repeated attempts.