Kannada actor Puneeth Rajkumar to be honoured with Karnataka Ratna Award posthumously

Kannada actor Puneeth Rajkumar will be honoured with the Karnataka Ratna Award posthumously. The Power Star passed away last month due to cardiac arrest. He was 46. Today, taking to his Twitter handle Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj S Bommai shared the news of honouring Puneeth with the state’s highest civilian award.

The tweet read: “State Government has decided to honour late Sri Puneet Rajkumar with Karnataka Ratna award posthumously.”

Take a look at the tweet here.

ಕನ್ನಡನಾಡಿನ ಜನಪ್ರಿಯ ಕಲಾವಿದ ದಿವಂಗತ ಶ್ರೀ ಪುನೀತ್ ರಾಜಕುಮಾರ್ ಅವರಿಗೆ ಮರಣೋತ್ತರ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ರತ್ನ ಪ್ರಶಸ್ತಿ ನೀಡಿ ಗೌರವಿಸಲು ರಾಜ್ಯ ಸರ್ಕಾರ ತೀರ್ಮಾನಿಸಿದೆ.

State Government has decided to honour late Sri #PuneethRajukumar with Karnataka Ratna award posthumously.#KarnatakaRatna

— Basavaraj S Bommai (@BSBommai) November 16, 2021

Puneeth Rajkumar was the son of veteran actor Rajkumar. He started his career as a child artist and acted in over 29 Kannada films. He also won the National Film Award for Best Child Artist for his performance in Bettada Hoovu in 1985. Puneeth was fondly called Appu by his fans. He was cremated with state honors at the Kanteerava Studio in Bengaluru. Just like his father, the late actor Puneeth Rajkumar also donated his eyes. His eye donation has helped many others regain their vision in the future. Doctors at Narayana Nethralaya, who had collected Puneeth’s corneas, told The Hindu that the corneal epithelial stem cells are being cultured to treat people who may lose vision due to eye injuries such as cracker burns, chemical and acid injuries. This kind deed by Puneeth has inspired and encouraged many to take pledge in donating eyes. Dr. Shetty said the Dr. Rajkumar Eye Bank has received nearly 8,000 eye pledges in the last fortnight.

Puneeth is survived by wife Ashwini Revanth and two children-Dhriti and Vanditha.

Also Read: Puneeth Rajkumar passes away: Actor made his last post 7 hours ago to wish luck to the team Bhajarangi 2