In April 2002, Puneeth made his film debut as a leading man in the masala film, "Appu" with actress, Rakshita also making her film debut. The musical by Gurukiran, directed by Puri Jagannadh and produced by Parvathamma Rajkumar, in which he played a college boy, was a box office success and critics praised his dancing skills. Puneeth sang "Taliban Alla Alla", with lyrics by Upendra and music by Gurukiran. The film's success spawned remakes in Telugu ("Idiot" (2003)) and Tamil ("Dum" (2003)).