Puneeth Rajkumar follows in his father's footsteps, donates his eyes

Bangalore, Oct 29: Following in the footsteps of his father, Dr. Rajkumar, "Power Star" Puneeth Rajkumar also donated his eye. Soon after Puneeth Rajkumar was delcared dead, his brother Raghavendra Rajkumar placed a request with Dr. Rajkumar Eye Bank run by Narayana Nethralaya to collect the actor's eyes.

A team of doctors performed the procedure within a six-hour window after his death.

Dr Rajkumar had also pledged his eyes in Bengaluru during the inauguration of the Narayana Nethralaya in 1994.

Puneeth Rajkumar was also the 'Powerstar' who moved out of his father's long shadows to glitter in the arclights as Kannada cinema's most bankable, highly paid actor.

Puneeth was only 46 when he died after a massive heart attack following a two-hour workout in the gym, stunning his legions of fans, colleagues and political leaders left wondering just how a young man so seemingly fit and healthy could have gone so soon, so suddenly.

The talented, affable actor, who leaves behind his wife and two daughters, was popularly known as 'Powerstar' for his strong performance in a number of commercially-successful Kannada films. He was not just a star of films such as “Appu” but also a celebrity television host and the occasional singer too.

The actor grew up under the tutelage of the late Dr Rajkumar, the legendary Kannada personality icon, beginning his career as a child artist.

Like his father, Puneeth was also known as a playback singer, starting with "Appu". He sang the popular duet "Jothe Jotheyali" for Vamshi.

with PTI inputs