Senior actor from Tamil film industry Prabhu Ganeshan and popular star Shivakarthikeyan paid a visit to Kannada superstar Puneeth Rajkumar's residence on Monday and offered their condolences to the untimely death of the actor.
Prabhu remembered that Puneeth's father Dr Rajkumar and his father Shivaji Ganeshan shared very good bondage. "Appu (Puneeth), Shivanna (Shivrajkumar) and Raghu (Raghavendra Rajkumar) are more than a family. I am very much pained by the untimely death of Appu. I can't forget his humbleness and friendly nature. Whenever I was in Bengaluru, he made it a point to call and visit me. Both of us were foodies, we had a very good time together," he said.
"I can't forget the incident when Appu spent more than 6 hours when I fell sick during shooting here. Puneeth was a wonderful boy. He was an ambassador of love. If we are pained so much, imagine the plight of his family? It's a loss to the Indian film industry," he explained emotionally.
After meeting Puneeth Rajkumar's family members Shivakarthikeyan stated that he can't just believe that Puneeth is not there. "He was a wonderful actor. We are still in shock. We are not able to come out of it. I spoke to Puneeth, a month ago. It is a big loss to the film industry," he said.
"Puneeth had a clean heart. He spoke to all with love. He had wished me for my 'Doctor' movie. We met on a stage, Puneeth had invited me home, I could not meet him. He will be on my mind forever," he said.
Meanwhile, the family will perform the 'Haalu-Tuppa' ceremony (offering of ghee and milk to the grave) on Tuesday. Tight security is arranged in the surrounding areas of Kanteerava Studio. The government has not decided on entry to the fans of Puneeth yet. Family sources have stated that flowers are being brought from Coimbatore for the ceremony.
Siddaramaiah, the leader of Opposition in Karnataka has urged the central government to confer Padma Shri posthumously to Puneeth Rajkumar. "Puneeth would have earned Padma Shri with his talent and social concern if he was to be alive," he said.
Dr Bhujanga Shetty, the founder of Narayana Nethralaya has thanked Puneeth Rajkumar and his family for donating eyes. "We have successfully conducted surgeries with modern technology on four persons. Puneeth's eyes have enabled three males and one female to see the world. Dr Yathish and Dr Prarthana team have conducted these surgeries on Saturday," he said.
The upper layer and inner layers of the cornea will be separated and two patients could be treated with one eye. "We are successful in transplanting four persons with two corneas and this is the first time in the state," he maintained.
