Puneeth Rajkumar dies: Thousands pay tribute to Powerstar at Kanteerava Stadium

A sea of grieving fans poured into Bengaluru’s Kanteerava Stadium on Friday to pay last respects to Kannada star and celebrity television host Puneeth Rajkumar, whose death at 46 following a heart attack sent shockwaves across the nation.

last rites will be performed with full state honours, state minister R Ashoka told reporters. Videos showed the stadium packed wall-to-wall with thousands of fans. A government order said his last rites will be performed at the Kanteerava Studio where his parents Dr Rajkumar and Parvathamma were cremated.

According to government sources the last rites will be performed on Sunday, as the family awaits the arrival of Puneeth Rajkumar’s daughter, who lives abroad. Sandalwood powerstar Kannada actor Puneeth Rajkumar breathed his last at a Vikram hospital in Bengaluru. Actor suffered a heart attack on Friday (October 29) and was admitted to Vikram Hospital in Bengaluru.

Puneeth is 46 years old. He is the son of legendary actor Rajkumar and Parvathamma. He has acted as a hero in over 29 Kannada films. He started his career as a child artist and even won National Film Award for Best Child Artist for his performance in Bettada Hoovu in 1985. He won the Karnataka State Award for Best Child Artist for his performances in Chalisuva Modagalu and Yeradu Nakshatragalu.

Puneeth became a hero in 2002’s Appu, after which his fans fondly called him Appu. Some of his famous films include Abhi, Veera Kannadiga, Ajay, Arasu, Raam, Hudugaru, Anjani Putra, among others. He was last seen in Yuvarathnaa, which released early this year.

Puneeth Rajkumar who attended the pre-release event of Bhajarangi-2 was expected to watch the same movie yesterday. Puneeth, who was last seen on the silver screen in the movie Yuvarathnaa, was shooting for the action-packed movie James.

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