Puneeth Rajkumar to be conferred Karnataka Ratna posthumously

Bengaluru, Nov 16: The Karnataka government has decided to honour late actor Puneeth Rajkumar with the Karnataka Ratna Award posthumously.

Puneeth Rajkumar, one of the most popular stars of Kannada cinema, youngest of five children of thespian and matinee idol Dr Rajkumar, had died of a cardiac arrest on October 29 at the age of 46.

The Chief Minister made this announcement while speaking at the "Puneetha Namana," an event to pay homage to late Puneeth Rajkumar, organised by the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC), in association with Sandalwood film actors' and technicians' associations.

Karnataka Ratna, the highest civilian honour of the State, is awarded to a person for his extraordinary contribution in any field. Puneeth will be the 10th recipient of the state's highest civilian honour.

Interestingly, Puneeth's late father Rajkumar is among the first recipients of Karnataka Ratna award in 1992, along with poet Kuvempu.

Puneeth, popularly known as 'Appu' and 'Powerstar', by his fans, made debut on screen when he was just six-months-old and went on to win a national award as a child artist for the film Bettada Hoovu. He then re-emerge as a lead actor in 2002 and went on to star in 29 films, delivering some big hits.

Apart from acting, he sang a lot of songs and produced movies like Kavaludaari, Maya Bazaar, and French Biriyani to encourage aspiring filmmaker.

The Power Star tried his hand at hosting by anchoring Kannadada Kotyadhipati, the Kannada version of Kaun Banega Crorepati.