Mysore/Mysuru: What can be more poignant moment than this? Parents of a boy who was a hard-core fan of ‘Power Star’ Puneeth Rajkumar placed their late son’s photo on a theatre seat to watch the actor’s latest flick ‘Yuvarathnaa.’ With tears rolling down their eyes, the couple watched the movie as if their son himself was enjoying every moment of the movie. The act also brought tears in the eyes of people seated near the boy’s photo.

M. Muralidharan, a resident of Kuvempunagar in city, came to DRC Cinemas at B.M. Habitat Mall on Sunday along with his wife Leela and elder son Harshith. With them, they carried a life-size photo of their younger son Harikrishnan. After purchasing four tickets, they entered the cinema hall and placed Harikrishna’s photo on a seat and sat through the movie. 

“This was our way to pay tribute to my son who was Puneeth’s ardent fan,” 52-year-old Muralidharan told reporters. Harikrishnan drowned in Varuna Canal last December and a happy family was immersed in tears. “My son was eagerly waiting for the release of the movie and unfortunately he drowned on Dec. 13 when he went to the Canal to swim with his friends and his cherished dream of watching the movie was left unfulfilled. Today, we have fulfilled his wish,” Muralidharan said. 

Harikrishnan had downloaded the movie songs months before the movie released and was dancing to the steps and was emulating the ‘Power Star’ almost every day. “He wanted to see the movie and had expressed the desire of seeing it on the first show of the first day. We decided to take his photo to the movie hall and we purchased the ticket to watch the movie with his portrait by our side,” Muralidharan, who works at a jewellery store in city, said.  

The incident also moved other people who were seated in the front and back rows and some of them were in tears too. Learning about the incident of the parents watching the film with poster of the deceased son, actor Puneeth Rajkumar has tweeted, expressing grief over the death of Harikrishnan and the family’s move to watch the movie. 

“I am feeling emotional and have a heavy heart. May his soul rest in peace,” Puneeth tweeted. Many fans have reacted emotionally and wished a rebirth for Harikrishnan as Appu (Puneeth) fan.