Puneet, Aindrita bag first AKKA Awards

The much-talked 6th World Kannada Conference, which was being held at New Jersy Edison Hall, ended on this Sunday. The last evening was full of cultural events including song and dance. The first American Kannada Koota Association (AKKA) Kannada Film awards event was also interspersed with the closing ceremony.

Kannada actress Aindrita Ray, who has a Bengali origin, has bagged the best actress award for her performance in the movie Manasaare, directed by Yogaraj Bhat. Actor Puneet Rajkumar, who is the son of late Kannada superstar Dr Rajkumar, has received the first AKKA award for his wonderful performance in the 2009 film Raam.

Renowned comedian of Kannada movies, Jaggesh was honored with the lifetime achievement award. Actor Santosh got the 'Promising hero" award, but ironically his film Nooru Janmaku failed badly at the Box Office. Actor Vijaya Raghavendra, who has won National Award as a child actor, was awarded for one of his flop movie Mathe Bandha Ganesha.

The huge audience present at the Edison center in New Jersey enjoyed the cultural event. Puneet Rajkumar promised to widen the market for Kannada movies in foreign countries with a healthy approach. The actor has taken the task of meeting KFCC members in this regard.

In his address, actor Jaggesh urged people to watch the Kannada films in theatres rather than watching in DVD system.