Puneeth Rajkumar Death: When Power Star Awed Fans With His Gestures And Humbleness

Updated: Friday, October 29, 2021, 16:09 [IST]

Be it for his enthralling charm, humbleness, acting chops or gestures towards his colleagues or fans, Puneeth Rajkumar has never failed to make heads turn.

This might surprise many, but the darling of Karnataka, born on March 17, 1975, kicked off his cinematic journey with the 1976 film Premada Kanika, in which he made a cameo appearance as a 6-month-old infant. Interestingly, the film directed by V Somashekar starred his father and one of the greatest actors of Indian Cinema, late Dr Rajkumar.

After playing child artist in several films, the Kannada audience looked keenly and critically at Puneeth's arrival as the handsome hero, when he finally made his acting debut as a lead actor with the 2002 film Appu, directed by renowned filmmaker Puri Jagannadh. Being the son of a superstar, the audience indeed had high expectations from Puneeth. However, the actor was here to reign the Sandalwood industry with his versatility and Appu indeed put all the speculations to rest by successfully completing a 200-day run in theatres. From Premade Kanika to Mayabazar, there was no turning back for the actor.

Here are a few instances when the late actor awed fans with his gestures and humbleness.

Puneeth Rajkumar’s sweet gesture for Tollywood actor Prabhas

Puneeth never shied away from appreciating actors of other industries. At a time when people questioned Prashanth Neel for casting Tollywood actor Prabhas for his upcoming film Salaar, the Power Star was the first actor to support and welcome the Rebel Star with open arms.

He had tweeted, "#SALAAR THE MOST VIOLENT MEN.. CALLED ONE MAN.. THE MOST VIOLENT!! With open arms, ನಮ್ಮ ಕನ್ನಡ ನಾಡಿಗೆ, I welcome you home."

Puneeth Rajkumar- A Philanthropist

It is a known fact that Puneeth's remuneration for singing in movies that are not backed by his production company goes directly to the charity. Reportedly, the actor had been giving regular donations to Kannada-medium schools as fees for underprivileged students. On the other hand, he had donated Rs 50 lakh to Karnataka Chief Minister Distress Fund for the relief measures carried out by the state government to combat Coronavirus.

Puneeth Rajkumar: An awe-inspiring dancer

In one of the interviews with Kairam Vaashi for Film Companion, the actor was asked about the magic he has been weaving with his dance numbers. Though Puneeth accepted that he is a good dancer, the star also appreciated actors including Tiger Shroff and Hrithik Roshan, who he said are better than him.

He was quoted as saying, "I am a good dancer. Not bad. There are fantastic dancers in our state and in our country, people like Tiger Shroff he is amazing, Hrithik Roshan he is great, and even for Kannada for that matter Shivarajkumar Sir and Dhruva Sarja. I have not really hired a trainer in dancing. But it has always been my passion. And I thank all the dance masters and their assistants who have choreographed and tried to give me some training. I give entire credits to them."

Love towards Kannada film industry

In one of the many gestures of the actor, Puneeth extended his helping hand towards the pandemic-hit Sandalwood industry, when it needed its Power Star the most. The actor sold two of his production ventures including Law and French Biriyani to OTT platforms. Though the actual reason behind the same was not made official, reports were rife that Puneeth didn't want other producers to run into losses considering the COVID-19 pandemic.

When Puneeth met his fan virtually

Puneeth Rajkumar's sweet gesture for one of his fans suffering from down-syndrome left many teary-eyed. Nagarjuna, the enthusiastic 15-year-old fan of the actor, expressed his love and even shared that he starts his day by listening to Power Star's song 'Bombe Helutaite' from Raajkumara. The star who was surprised to hear the same, was seen blessing the young fan with a wide smile.

Well, the video uploaded by Puneeth himself on his social media space took the internet by storm and won many hearts

Puneeth Rajkumar died today (October 29) after suffering a massive heart attack. He was 46.