Puneeth Rajkumar, the Sandalwood superstar, passed away last year. He was 46. His last film, 'James', will have a posthumous release in theatres on March 17.

The news is that distributors in Karnataka have decided to play only 'James' for the entire first week in the State, from March 17-23. No other movie will be played. This is meant to be a tribute to Puneeth, who is one of the most-loved Kannada matinee idols ever.

Puneeth's fans have welcomed the gesture and are happy that 'James' will have a great run at the box office.

It has to be seen how SS Rajamouli's 'RRR' will be affected by the decision if it hits the screens on March 18. Karnataka is an important territory for the Jr NTR-Ram Charan movie. While 'RRR' has a great craze going for it, 'James' is an honorable film that the Kannada film industry and fans hold dear to.

'James', Puneeth's posthumous film, also features Priya Anand, Srikanth, and Anu Prabhakar. Its music is by Charan Raj. Chethan Kumar has directed it.