Kannada actor Puneeth Rajkumar, youngest son of late actorRajkumar, is a huge fan of Aamir Khan and says the Bollywood star inspired himto accept the lead role in "Prithvi".
"To me, it was challenging to play the role of an IAS (Indian AdministrativeService) officer... I am a huge fan of him. I was too impressed by one ofAamir's films and that is what inspired me to take up a film like'Prithvi'," the 37-year-old said in an interview to CNN-IBN for their showSouthern Stars.
In the 2010 release, Puneeth was seen as an honest IAS Officer whose main aimis to eradicate the ongoing corruption in the district and stick to hisprinciples a la Aamir's role in 1999 hit movie "Sarfarosh".
Puneeth worked as a child artist and appeared in almost 12 films, but when hegrew older he decided to try other things before wearing greasepaint.
"I wanted to do try out different things. I tried my hands at granite andconstruction business. After that I came into my family business ofdistributing and also worked as a manager of couple of films.
"I did not want to get into acting again. But, it was perhaps impossibleto be doctor Rajkumar's son and not enter the film world. In 2001, PuriJagannath was directing a film... My father said why not try it. That movie wastitled 'Appu'," he said.
The actor now has the unenviable task of guarding the Rajkumar legacy andtaking it forward.
Remembering his late father, he said: "Nobody in Karnataka can ever becompared to Rajkumar. He is the best and will always remain so."
The interview will be aired Saturday on the channel and the repeat telecastwill be Sunday.