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Puneeth Rajkumar laid to rest with full state honours in Bengaluru
Puneeth Rajkumar died on Friday after suffering a cardiac arrest. He is survived by his wife Ashwini Revanth and two daughters, Dhriti and Vanditha
Bengaluru Puneeth Rajkumar, the Kannada film star and son of cinema legend, Dr Rajkumar, was laid to rest with full state honours at the Kanteerava Studio in Bengaluru on Sunday, in the presence of his family, friends, elected representatives and hundreds of fans.
Born as Lohit, on March 17 1975, Puneeth became a household name at the age of seven, when he sang “Kaanadante Mayavadhanu, Namma Shiva, Kailsa Serikondanu’, (Went missing and can’t be seen, my Shiva, reached Kailasa) in the movie ‘Chalisuva Modagalu’ in 1982.
Three years later, his captivating role as a young, studious boy from a poor family in the 1985 film Bettada Hoovu bagged the then 10-year-old a national award. Over the next four decades, Puneeth built a stellar career with blockbuster hits and a cult following in Karnataka for his action sequences and fitness regimen.
The 46-year-old actor died on Friday after suffering a cardiac arrest. He is survived by his wife Ashwini Revanth and two daughters, Dhriti and Vanditha.
His final journey began at about 5:30 am on Sunday from Kanteerava Stadium, where it was kept since Friday evening for thousands of fans and well-wishers to pay their last respects, to Kanteerava studio, where his father, Dr Rajkumar, was laid to rest 15 years ago.
He was accorded full state honours, as the police band played the national anthem and police personnel fired three rounds in the air, followed by two minutes of silence as a mark of respect. The national flag, wrapped on Puneeth’s body, was then handed over to his wife Ashwini Revanth.
Several political dignitaries, including chief minister Basavaraj Bommai, former chief ministers B S Yediyurappa and Siddaramaiah, state Congress chief D K Shivakumar, and a host of film personalities were among those who paid their last respects to the actor.
“I bid goodbye to the mortal remains of renowned actor Puneeth Rajkumar who died on Friday. Be born again and come back Appu,” said Bommai, as he kissed the Puneeth’s forehead.
“It’s all over now. This will take days for us to get to normal. It’s not just the loss, it’s the sudden shock that the industry and people need to get out of. This day witnessed another beautiful chapter come to an end,” said actor Sudeep, in a tweet.
“Puneet Was born Royally, grew royally, lived Royally and left Royally,” he added.
The entire state had come to a standstill during Puneeth’s funeral procession on Sunday, with the government cancelling all of its official programmes. Thousands of grieving fans had flocked to the city’s Kanteerava stadium since Friday evening from different parts of the state to pay their last respects to their favourite actor.
Posters of Appu, as he was fondly known, were seen on every street in Bengaluru and other parts of the state.
Abhishek Bachchan, Chiranjeevi, Kamal Hassan, Nagarjuna, Virender Sehwag, KL Rahul, Mammooty, Mohan Lal, Allu Arjun and hundreds of other movie stars, sportspersons were among those who expressed their condolences on Twitter.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi, MK Stalin, M Venkaiah Naidu and scores of other leaders had also taken to Twitter to express their condolences.
“After Puneeth Rajkumar’s death, for three days, the revenue and Police department, BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) and other officials have put in a lot of effort and completed the work without any inconvenience to anyone,” Bommai said, praising the government departments for maintaining peace and decorum despite large crowds pouring in from across the state into Bengaluru.
In 2006, when Dr Rajkumar died, widespread violence had broken out in Bengaluru in 2006.
However, several people took to Twitter to applaud the people, the government and law enforcement agencies for maintaining peace this time.
“Our beloved chief minister and the govt did a splendid job with the arrangements. Every bit arranged with such dignity and discipline. Class apart. Thank you hon’ble chief minister to all the concerned officials for this gesture. You have played a major key role in giving “Puneeth’’ such a deserving send-off,” Sudeep said in a tweet.
Puneeth had starred in 49 films, 12 of them as a child artist. He was seen as Kannada cinema’s most popular actor with remuneration for each movie upwards of ₹3 crore.
He was the youngest son of Dr Rajkumar, one of Kannada cinema’s legends and Dada Saheb Phalke award winner, who died in 2006.
His mother, Parvathamma Rajkumar was a producer and one of the most influential names in Kannada cinema. His brothers -- Shiva Rajkumar and Raghavendra Rajkumar -- are also actors and producers, making this arguably the first family of the Kannada cinema industry.
The actor, like his father Dr Rajkumar, donated his eyes, said a senior official at the department of information and public relations.
