Late actor Power Star Puneeth Rajkumar's last film James is all set for re-release with the addition of his original voice on April 22.
Dubbing was still pending when the actor died on Oct. 29, 2021. His elder brother Shivarajkumar dubbed for him. The film first hit screens on March 17.
"The film is being run on 67 screens across Karnataka now. We plan to re-release it in another 60 to 70 screens," said director Chethan Kumar.
Pappu, a technician from Hyderabad, and his team invented new technology to add the actor's original voice in the film. It is said to be the first such experiment in the world.
"There was hardly any progress after we approached a few institutes in order to add the actor's voice, but it was Pappu who made it possible," Kumar said.
"Srikanth, who has acted in the film, introduced Pappu to us," said producer Kishore.
All interviews, bytes given to television channels, 15 hours of recorded content for 'Kannadada Kotyadhipati', a television reality show and his recorded voice during the shooting of James were given to Pappu. The rise and fall (intonations) in Shivarajkumar's voice were also recorded.
Pappu took about three months and succeeded in his fifth attempt to use the original voice. "It is now 100% Puneeth's voice," said Shivarajkumar.
"I was working for Telugu actor Prabhas' project. He asked me to complete the works of James and then focus on his project. It is the first such experiment in the world," Pappu said.