Puneeth Rajkumar had died of a heart attack on October 29 at the age of 46.
A ceremony to pay tribute to Kannada actor Puneeth Rajkumar was organised at the Bengaluru Palace grounds this afternoon. Larger than life posters of "Appu", as the actor was affectionately known, lined the road to the venue. His family members - visibly overwhelmed with emotions - were also present at the event.
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, at the event organised by the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce, announced that the actor would be conferred with the Karnataka Ratna Award posthumously.
Puneeth Rajkumar had died of a heart attack on October 29 at the age of 46.
At the event, Puneeth's family members, members of the film industry and senior politicians lighted candles and the audience held up their lit mobile phones as a mark of respect. One of the two daughters of the actor was seen resting her head on her mother's shoulder and when images of Puneeth as a child were flashed on the screen, his eldest brother, actor Shiva Rajkumar, could not hold back his tears.
Yaduveer Wadiyar, who would have been the maharaja of Mysuru if India still had royalty, told NDTV, "We are all here to convey our condolences to the entire film fraternity. It is indeed a sad day. Very shocking that he left us all. His contribution towards film and society is tremendous. Alongside that, the few times I met him his personality was always so humble and well-meaning. It is our duty to be here as a Kannadiga and convey our condolences."
National award-winning actor-turned politician Tara talked of how unexpected his death was. "If he were alive, if this had just been an occasion where we were praising his successes, it would have been wonderful," she told NDTV.
Ragini, another Kannada actor, said, "I never imagined we would be coming to a ceremony like this. It is unbelievable for all of us. It is heartbreaking. We are not able to digest the fact that he is not with us anymore. He will always be in our hearts forever. He was an amazing human being."
Former Chief Ministers, BS Yediyurappa and Siddaramaiah were also present at the event. "Such a sad day. We didn't expect such a sad day will come in our life," said Siddaramaiah.
Puneeth was buried on October 31 next to his parents, Parvathamma and superstar Dr Rajkumar at Kanteerava Studio in Bengaluru.