Appu is the face of James and celebrating the film without him is not easy: Priya Anand

Priya Anand, the heroine of the late Puneeth Rajkumar’s James, was in Bengaluru over the weekend for the film’s pre-release event. The emotionally-charged evening had a lot of the late actor’s friends and family in tears, reminiscing about him and his tragic passing last year. It was no different for Priya, who tried her level-best to remain calm and composed during the proceedings and yet ended being misty-eyed every now and then. The venue at the Bengaluru Palace Ground, she said, was special for her, because she’d been there for the 100-day celebration of her earlier film with Puneeth, Raajakumara.

“I feel lucky that this team wanted to repeat our hit combination from Raajakumara. I was thrilled to act with Appu (Puneeth’s pet name) again and that there was an amazing story to be told. I will always treasure the moments spent with Appu,” said Priya at a press briefing, adding, “I have disconnected myself from the fact that I have acted in James. For me, it’s just a celebration of Appu. But to think that so many people are now going to watch James and celebrate it is overwhelming. Appu is the face of James and coming here to celebrate the film without him is not easy.”

The team of James has been notoriously tight-lipped about the story and characters played by various actors and has not even been revealing images from the film. When asked about the film, Priya also refrained from divulging details, but said, “I don’t think fans care about the story of James anymore; they just want to see Appu one more time. When you watch the experience of this film on the big screen, you’ll see that it has been shot at insane locations, like five-star hotels and resorts mainly at such a huge budget. The cinematography by Swamy garu is amazing, as is the music by Charanraj. All that, added to Appu’s stardom and aura, is going to make James so magical. This is a movie that all of us will keep watching over and over again, as we all just want to hold on to Puneeth and not let him go.”

Priya’s biggest regret, though, is that she did not get to dance with Puneeth one last time. At the time of his passing, the actor was due to shoot for a duet with Priya, which would have more or less wound up the film. “I was actually nervous about that song, because I’d have to dance with Appu again. He was such a great dancer. A lot of discussion went back and forth about this love song and then Covid brought travel restrictions. In the end, I missed an opportunity to dance with Appu again. I do regret that,” she said.