New Delhi: The sudden demise of Kannada film star Puneeth Rajkumar in Bangalore Friday has left people in shock. Not only his fans, but those that did not know him, has lamented the death of Puneeth Rajkumar. He died at the young age of 46. The actor’s sudden death has come as a shock to his family, colleagues and fans. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the death of Puneeth.
Puneeth Rajkumar was one of the most successful film stars in India. He was a multi-faceted talent and could sing and dance with equal aplomb like acting. Here are some facts about Puneeth Rajkumar which have not really come to light.
Puneeth Rajkumar was probably destined to be a movie star and he debuted in films when he was just six months old. He acted in the 1976 film Premada Kanike. He also won the National Award for Best Child Artist in 1985 for the film Bettada Hoovu. Puneeth worked in 15 films as a child artist. He was then referred to by his original birth name ‘Lohith’.
Power Star Puneeth met his wife, Ashwini Revanth, through a mutual friend. It was a real sweet romantic story. The couple started off as friends, fell in love and married December 1, 1999.
Puneeth was a prolific and good singer as well. He sang his first song, ‘Baana Dariyalli Soorya’, in 1981 at the age of six. Most of the time the money he earned through songs, went to charity. In addition to this, the actor was also a patron of several charitable causes.
Puneeth also loved dancing. The song he most liked to dance on was Mithun Chakraborty’s ‘I Am A Disco Dancer’. He also admired the work of Pankaj Tripathi, who the actor said he wanted to meet at an event that saw the likes of Jeff Bezos in attendance.
While Power Star and Yuvarathnaa may be the popular monikers given to Puneeth by the media and the film industry, he was always referred to as ‘Appu’ by his fans and colleagues. The name came from the first film that featured Puneeth in a lead role, the 2002 hit Appu.