Bengaluru: A sea of grieving fans poured into Bengaluru’s Kanteerava Stadium to pay last respects to Kannada cinema’s reigning star and celebrity television host Puneeth Rajkumar, whose death at 46 after a heart attack sent shockwaves across the country. His last rites will be performed with full state honours, state minister R Ashoka told reporters.
A government order said his last rites will be performed at the Kanteerava Studio where his parents Dr Rajkumar and Parvathamma were cremated.
Rajkumar, who was known to be a fitness enthusiast, was rushed to Vikram Hospital after he complained of chest pain following a two-hour workout in the gym, doctors treating him said. He died shortly after. He is survived by his wife Ashwini Revanth and two daughters Dhriti and Vanditha.
Restless crowds of stunned fans milled around the hospital complex as news came in of the sudden death of the actor, the son of much-loved matinee idol Rajkumar who fast outgrew his father’s shadow to make a place for himself in the Kannada showbiz industry.
