Actor Anupam Kher tweeted that he was “deeply saddened and shocked” by the sudden demise of Kannada film star Puneeth Rajkumar. “Everybody always had something nice to say about him. Both, as an actor and as a person! It must be so so tough for his family and fans to deal with this loss,” Kher tweeted. On the other hand, Veteran actor Kamal Haasan also penned a heartfelt tribute to his “dear younger brother” Puneeth Rajkumar. Taking to Twitter, Haasan wrote, “The demise of my dear younger brother Puneeth Rajkumar was most unexpected. We were mutually very fond of each other. My deepest sympathy to his family and his fans in Karnataka.”
Puneeth Rajkumar’s untimely demise sent shockwaves across the country, with tributes pouring in from all quarters. Joining in grief was a host of South stars including Jr NTR, Mahesh Babu, Chiranjeevi, Lakshmi Manchu, R Madhavan, Dulquer Salmaan, and Prithviraj Sukumaran among many others. Puneeth’s fans remembered the late actor as “one of the kindest and noblest” film stars.The youngest son of Kannada matinee idol Rajkumar, Puneeth was referred to as ‘Power Star’ and ‘Appu’ by fans. Puneeth started his acting career as a child artist along with his father. He won the National Film Award for Best Child Artist for his role of Ramu in Bettada Hoovu (1985). Puneeth also won the Karnataka State Award for Best Child Artist for his performances in Chalisuva Modagalu and Yeradu Nakshatragalu.
Puneeth starred in over 29 Kannada films. He had appeared as a lead actor in a number of commercially successful films including Appu (2002), Abhi (2003), Veera Kannadiga (2004), Mourya (2004), Aakash (2005), Ajay (2006), Arasu (2007), Milana (2007), Vamshi (2008), Raam (2009), Jackie (2010), Hudugaru (2011), Raajakumara (2017), and Anjani Putra (2017).