Even those not acquainted with Kannada film industry, were well aware of one of its marquee names; Puneeth Rajkumar. The actor left his fans mourning and the industry in loss, after he passed away too soon and too suddenly.
The youngest of the five children of legendary actor Dr Rajkumar, passed away on October 29 due to a cardiac arrest in the morning. At the age of 46, he still had his prime years of cinematic excellence ahead of him, mourned his fans. Puneeth Rajkumar is survived by his wife Ashwini Revanth and two daughters Drithi and Vanditha.
In a statement, Dr Ranganath Naik of Vikram Hospital, where he was immediately referred to after he complained of chest pain in the morning, confirmed that when he was brought to the hospital there was no cardiac activity, despite the efforts to revive him. The mortal remains of the actor will be kept open for public at Kanteerava Stadium and the last rites of the actor will be performed on Saturday, October 30.
It's a sad day for the film industry
Puneeth Rajkumar's fan following traversed regular fans and Kannada film industry. Bollywood came together to mourn the untimely and sudden loss of the actor. The first of those tweeting their condolences happened to be actor Sonu Sood, Kubra Sait, producer Boney Kapoor, Erica J Fernandes, Hansika, Vivek Oberoi, Abhishek Bachchan, Ajay Devgn, among many others. Many compared the loss to actor Sidharth Shukla's demise a few weeks ago. It's not just the seasoned and veteran actors, who mourned the loss, but many among the new crop of actors in B-town tweeted their condolences. Actor Rakul Preet Singh wrote, "This is shocking. At a loss for words. RIP. My strength and condolences to the family."
Great loss... too soon, too sudden and untimely
It's not just the late actor's co-actors, producers and those who had worked with him had a tough time processing the sudden loss, but those who briefly met the actor, known him personally or even those outside of the film industries. Cricketer Harbhajan Singh, wrote, "Shocked to hear that Puneeth Rajkumar is no more. Life is so unpredictable. Condolences to family and friends. Waheguru."
Member of Parliament Rahul Gandhi, also joined in mourning the unexpected and untimely loss. "Gone too soon. My heartfelt condolences to the family, friends and fans of Kannada actor Puneeth Rajkumar."
