Puneet Rajkumar is the 9th recipient of this prestigious honour. (file)
Bangalore:
Karnataka’s highest civilian award ‘Karnataka Ratna’ was presented posthumously to late actor Puneeth Rajkumar on Tuesday on the occasion of the 67th Kannada Rajyotsava (State Foundation Day).
Puneet Rajkumar is the 9th recipient of this prestigious honour.
Due to the sudden rain in the forest of Vidhana Soudha, the seat of the State Legislature and Secretariat here, the event was cut short and organized in a hurried manner.
Cine actors Rajinikanth and Jr NTR, and Infosys Foundation chairperson Sudha Murthy were the guests at the event, in which Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai honored Puneeth Rajkumar with the Karnataka Ratna.
Late actor’s wife Ashwini Puneeth Rajkumar received a full silver plaque and 50g gold medal at the Karnataka Ratna Award in the presence of her actor brother Shivarajkumar and other family members.
Many eminent personalities from the film and literary world, ministers, political leaders, MLAs and others were present in this program.
Before the main event, there was a musical performance by several renowned singers including Vijay Prakash, who sang popular songs from Puneeth’s films.
With a large number of people descending on the venue, Ambedkar Road in front of Vidhana Soudha was packed despite the rain, and it was closed for traffic. The commuters were advised by the traffic police to use alternate routes.
Considered the reigning star of Kannada cinema, Puneeth, the youngest of five children of thespian and matinee idol Dr Rajkumar, died of a cardiac arrest on October 29, 2021 at the age of 46.
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said, “The whole of Karnataka, every village in this state is celebrating and is proud to have honored Puneeth with the Karnataka Ratna.” Ashwini thanked the Government of Karnataka, the Chief Minister and fans for the honours; While Sivarajkumar said, his entire family is proud to have received the state’s highest civilian award, which was also conferred on his father Dr Rajkumar 30 years ago.
Congratulating the people of Karnataka on the occasion of Rajyotsava, Rajinikanth, speaking in Kannada, said, “Puneeth was a god’s child, who spent some time with us and has now gone back to his creator.
He also recalled that Puneet’s late father Rajkumar was honored with the same award at the same place, and it was raining at that time too.
Speaking in Kannada as well, Telugu actor Jr NTR said, Puneeth Rajkumar is a king who ruled millions of hearts with his personality and smile, without any ego.
“He (Puneet) was above all a great man, and the richness in his smile cannot be seen anywhere else. He is receiving the Karnataka Ratna award today, but according to me, Puneeth is the true meaning of Karnataka Ratna. I have come here as a proud friend of Puneet.”
The Karnataka Ratna was last awarded to Dr. Virendra Hegde for social service in 2009.
Interestingly, Puneeth’s late father Rajkumar is among the recipients of the Karnataka Ratna Award in 1992 along with renowned poet Kuvempu.
Other recipients of the award are S Nijalingappa (Politics), CNR Rao (Science), Bhimsen Joshi (Music), Shivakumara Swamiji (Social Service), and Dr J Javre Gowda (Education and Literature).
Popularly known as ‘Appu’ and ‘Power Star’ by his fans, Puneet made his screen debut when he was just six months old and won a National Award as a child artiste for the film ‘Bettada Hoovu’. , He then re-emerged as a lead actor in 2002 and starred in 29 films, giving some big hits.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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