Kannada superstar Puneeth Rajkumar passes away at 46

Kannada superstar Puneeth Rajkumar, passed away on Friday at the age of 46 from a cardiac arrest.

Puneeth was taken to the Vikram Hospital in Bengaluru in the morning after he complained of chest pain. Son of matinee idol Rajkumar, Puneeth was fondly called “Appu” by his fans. He started his career as a child artist with his father in the early 1980s. Raam, Hudugaru, and Anjani Putra are some of his memorable movies. He was last seen in Yuvarathnaa, which was released early this year. His last rites will be performed with full state honours on Sunday at the Kanteerava stadium. Thousands of fans thronged the stadium as his mortal remains were taken there.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi mourned the demise of the Kannada star. Taking to his Twitter handle, PM Modi shared a throwback picture featuring him with the late actor. Sharing the picture, the Prime Minister tweeted, “A cruel twist of fate has snatched away from us a prolific and talented actor, Puneeth Rajkumar. This was no age to go. The coming generations will remember him fondly for his works and wonderful personality. Condolences to his family and admirers. Om Shanti.”

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman condoled the death by tweeting, “Condolences on the passing away of #PuneethRajkumar. A bright star. He had a long promising career ahead. My condolences to his family, his innumerable fans and followers.”

Social media was flooded with condolence messages since the news of the untimely demise of Kannada actor Puneeth Rajkumar broke.

Actor Sanjay Dutt tweeted, “You were the most kindest and the simplest person I’ve met. The world has lost another gem. My heartfelt condolences to your family and friends. Om Shanti #PuneethRajkumar.”

Veteran actor Anil Kapoor wrote, “Shocking & extremely sad… #PuneethRajkumar. Sending my heartfelt condolences & prayers to the family…”

Veteran superstar Kamal Hassan also tweeted: “The demise of my dear younger brother Puneeth Rajkumar was most unexpected. We were mutually very fond of each other. My deepest sympathy to his family and his fans in Karnataka. #PuneethRajkumar.”

The other actors who expressed their condolences social media included Dhanush, Abhishek Bachchan, R. Madhavan Pooja Hegde, Tusshar Kapoor, and singer Shreya Ghoshal among others.