Sandalwood's 'Power Star' Puneeth Rajkumar (46) breathed his last on Friday after he suffered a heart attack.
The Kannada actor and youth icon, who was the youngest son of matinee icon late Dr. Rajkumar and younger brother of actor Shivarajkumar, was rushed to Vikram Hospital in Bengaluru around 11am with complaints of chest pain, but could not be revived.
Puneeth, affectionately known as "Appu" (also the name of his first film as the lead actor), was also a noted television presenter, film producer and playback singer.
Puneeth (Lohit Rajkumar), born on March 17, 1975 in Chennai, was the fifth and youngest child of Dr. Rajkumar and late Parvathamma. He was barely six months old when he was cast in Premada Kaanike and Arathi. As a child, he used to accompany his father to film sets.
At the age of one, he was cast in the landmark film Sanaadi Appanna, based on Krishnamoorthy Puranik's novel 'Kuniyitu Hejje Naliyithu Gejje'.
In 1982, he recorded his first song 'Baana Daariyalli Soorya' for B.S. Ranga's film Bhagyavantha.
He worked in many movies as a child artist and bagged the Karnataka state award for the best child artist for Chalisuva Modagalu (1982) and mythological films Bhakta Prahallada and Yeradu Nakshatragalu (1983). His outstanding performance in the Kannada film Bettada Hoovu won him the national award and filmfare awards south for the best child artist in 1985. The film, produced by his mother and directed by N. Lakshminarayan, was based on the Shirley L. Arora's novel 'What then, Raman?'.
His debut movie as the leader actor, Appu (2002), was a box office hit. The film was remade in Telugu (Idiot) and Tamil (Dum) the following year.
One of the highest paid lead actors in the Kannada film industry, Puneeth has acted in 29 films and was known for his fantastic action sequences and dancing skills.
The five films that were released between 2004 and 2006 —Veera Kannadiga, Maurya, Akash, Namma Basava and Ajay—earned him the sobriquet 'Power Star'.
In 2007, Puneeth bagged his first filmfare award for the best actor for his performance in Arasu, directed by Mahesh Babu. He won his first Karnataka state film award for best actor for the movie Milana in the same year.
In 2010, he gave memorable performances in Jacob Varghese's political thriller Prithvi, in which he played a bureaucrat fighting against corruption, and Jackie, an action film directed by Duniya Soori. In 2011, he won his second filmfare award and first SIIMA best actor award for K. Madesh's Hudugaru, a remake of the Tamil film Nadodigal.
The 2012 action film Anna Bond, produced by his mother, got him an IIFA (International Indian Film Academy Awards) nomination.
Puneeth held the record for the highest-grossing Kannada film— Raajakumara (2017)—till KGF Chapter 1 (2018) shattered the record.
He became a highly sought-after television presenter with 'Kannadada Kotyadhipati', the Kannada version of 'Kaun Banega Crorepati' in 2012. He also hosted a reality show —Family Power—and produced a TV serial.
The owner of a premier futsal team—Bengaluru 5—Puneeth has been a brand ambassador for leading brands, including the RCB.
An accomplished playback singer like his father, Puneeth had once said his earnings from singing went for charity works, which he picked up from his mother.
Puneeth leaves behind wife Ashwini Revanth and two daughters - Drithi and Vanditha. Like his father, Puneeth too had pledged to donate his eyes, and the donation was facilitated by the hospital authorities.
The mortal remains of the late actor will be kept at Kanteerava Stadium from 6.30pm on Friday for his fans and well-wishers to pay their last respects.
