James (2022 film)

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. The specific problem is: Complete plot is needed. See WP:TEASER. Please help if you can. (March 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

James
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Chethan Kumar
Written by	Chethan Kumar
Produced by	Kishore Pathikonda
Starring	Puneeth Rajkumar Priya Anand Srikanth Anu Prabhakar
Cinematography	Swamy J. Gowda
Edited by	Deepu S. Kumar
Music by	Songs: Charan Raj Background Score: V. Harikrishna
Production company	Kishore Productions
Release date	17 March 2022 (2022-03-17)
Running time	149 minutes
Country	India
Language	Kannada
Budget	₹50 - ₹70 crores [1]
Box office	est. ₹100 crore [2]

James is a 2022 Indian Kannada-language action thriller film written and directed by Chethan Kumar. It stars Puneeth Rajkumar and Priya Anand. This is Puneeth's posthumous appearance following his death on 29 October 2021.^[3] The film marked the second collaboration between Puneeth, Priya and Sarathkumar after Raajakumara (2017).^[4][5][6][7] The film score and soundtrack are composed by Charan Raj.

The film had a theatrical release on 17 March 2022 on the occasion of Puneeth's birthday. The movie released in 5 languages (Kannada, Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu) in 4000 screens.

Puneeth prior to his demise had finished most part of the shoot except one song and voice dubbing. The movie team tried it's best to retain Puneeth's voice captured during shoot but when it seemed difficult, Shiva Rajkumar, the eldest brother of Puneeth, dubbed for his brother's character in the Kannada version.

The film generally received positive reviews from critics praising the visuals, stylish execution, action sequences, production values and the performance of Puneeth Rajkumar. It was considered a fitting tribute to Puneeth by the audience. It became a huge success at the box office. It broke the record of biggest opening for any kannada movie, collecting around 32 Crores on the first day. It became highest grossing movie of Puneeth Rajkumar after Raajakumara. ^[1]

Plot[]

This article needs an improved plot summary. You can provide one by . (March 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Bangalore city is filled with the stylized crime syndicate which is divided between three groups. Vijay Gayakwad is one of the groups and has a life-threatening situation. So, he appoints Santhosh Kumar, who is the manager in J-Wings security agency as his bodyguard due to his skills handling the enemies. However, Santhosh kidnaps Vijay Gayakwad and his family and holds them hostage where he reveals himself as James. What is James past and why he targeted the crime syndicate forms the rest of the story.

Cast[]

• Puneeth Rajkumar as Santhosh Kumar aka James (voiceover by Shiva Rajkumar)^[8]
• Priya Anand as Nisha Gayakwad^[9]
• Anu Prabhakar as Vijay Gayakwad's wife
• Srikanth as Vijay Gayakwad
• R. Sarathkumar as Joseph Antony
• Madhusudhan Rao as Jayadev Gakaywad, Vijay Gayakwad's father
• Mukesh Rishi as Rathan, supporter of Joseph Antony
• Aditya Menon as Prathap Aras, associate of Vijay Gayakwad
• Rangayana Raghu as Rakesh Kumar Pirangi, Santhosh's colleague
• Avinash as higher army officer of Santosh
• Sadhu Kokila as Santhosh's assistant
• Tilak Shekar as Jagan, IPS officer
• Harsha BK as Amar, IPS officer
• Chikkanna as Madan, chief editor
• Shine Shetty as Ekanth, IAS officer
• Suchendra Prasad as Jessie's father
• Padmaja Rao as Mary, Jessie's mother
• Ketan Karande as gang member of Joseph Antony's mafia syndicate
• Mohan Juneja as Rich Person
• Girish Gowda as Fake Rich Person
• Prasanna Baagin as Ratan Lal's son
• Vajragiri as Ratan Lal's son
• John Kokken as John , Joseph's brother
• Taarak Ponnappa as Peter , Joseph's brother
• Yash Shetty as Robin , Joseph's brother
• Vajrang Shetty as Prathap Aras's Son
• Kavya Shastry as Jagan's wife
• Hamsa as Amar's wife
• Nayana Gowda as Madan's wife
• Sameeksha as Jessie , Ekanth's fiancee
• Shivamani as Joseph's associate
• Anil as Vijay Gaikwad's associate
• Krishna Hebbale as a Police Officer
• K S Shreedhar as orphanage head
• Amit as Santhosh's associate
• Baby Aradhya Chandra as Amar's daughter
• Master Anoop as Jagan's son
• Govindegowda as marriage broker
• Dattanna as Chowdhury ( Cameo )
• All Ok as Man at the Bar (cameo)
• Shiva Rajkumar in a special appearance as Anandraj , a soldier
• Raghavendra Rajkumar in a special appearance as Santhosh's orphanage head^[10]

Special Appearance in the Trademark song -

• Chandan Shetty^[11]
• Rachita Ram^[11]
• Ashika Ranganath^[11]
• Sreeleela^[11]
• Charan Raj

Production[]

Casting[]

Priya Anand was signed for the female lead role.^[12][13][14] The makers also announced that Srikanth, Hareesh Peradi, Mukesh Rishi and Anu Prabhakar would be seen in prominent roles.^[15][16][17] In 2021, R. Sarathkumar,^[18] Tilak Shekar, Shine Shetty, Chikkanna joined the film's cast.^[19]

Filming[]

The integral portions of the film has been shot in Bengaluru.

The film is produced by Kishore Pathikonda under the banner Kishore Productions.^[5] The first schedule of the shoot started from 19 January 2020 in Bengaluru.^[20] The second schedule of the film started from 14 October 2020 in Hampi.^[21] A quick schedule was also wrapped in February 2021 in Kashmir featuring important action sequences of Puneeth Rajkumar.^[22] After returning from Kashmir, Puneeth became busy in the promotional activities of his other film, Yuvarathnaa which released on 1 April amidst the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The James team resumed shoot once again from 5 July at a brisk pace after the Government of Karnataka gave nod to restart filming activities.^[23]

Music[]

Charan Raj composed the music for the film.^[4]

Release[]

The film released in theatres on 17 March 2022 in Kannada alongside dubbed versions in Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu.^[8] It released in 4000 screens on the first day including 400 single screen theaters in Karnataka alone.^[1]

Reception[]

Box office[]

The movie was estimated to have collected ₹27 to ₹30 crores on its first day which was the highest opening day domestic box office collection for a Kannada film at that time.^[24][25] The net collections at the end of the first day was reported to be around ₹18 crores ^[26] to ₹22.5 crores.^[27] It was reported to have grossed ₹10 crores on the second day ^[28] with the total gross around ₹37 crores to ₹45 crores in two days.^[29][30][31] While it was speculated that the gross theatrical collections for 3 days to be around ₹54 crores^[32] to ₹57 crores^[33] and the net collections for four days to be around ₹50 crores, ^[34] The Times of India and TV9 Kannada reported that the movie had collected ₹100 crores within 4 days^[2][35] based on the official announcement by the makers on the twitter page of the movie.^[36][37]

Critical response[]

Times Of India gave the movie 4/5 rating and praised the movie for its stylish presentation.^[38] Deccan Herald praised the movie for its high octane slick action sequences.^[39] Firstpost said the movie is "impressively shot and edited" and praised the production values and noted that the sets are "classy and pristine".^[40] The News Minute praised the "visual effects and smart camera angles".^[41] India Today gave the film a rating of 3/5 and praised Puneeth's performance "from enacting emotional sequences to nailing difficult dance steps ".^[42] The Hans India wrote "Puneeth takes the film on his shoulder. He made the action blocks more interesting" and called the background music as "top-notch".^[43] The Indian Express noted that "one cannot escape the strong sense of melancholy that comes with the knowledge of the fact that it will be the last time one would see Puneeth on-screen".^[44]

References[]

External links[]

• James at IMDb