Karnataka Ratna: A fitting honour for Puneeth Rajkumar

Written By: Cine Chit Chat Team Last Updated: November 3, 2022 / 04:03 PM IST

Late actor Puneeth Rajkumar was conferred with the ‘Karnataka Ratna’ award posthumously the other day. On the occasion of Karnataka Rajyotsava, the government of Karnataka decided to give this highest civilian award of the state to Puneeth. The actor’s wife Ashwini Rajkumar, and brothers Shiva Rajkumar and Raghavendra Rajkumar received this award.

The event was held in front of Karnataka Vidhana Soudha. Superstar Rajinikanth, Young Tiger Jr NTR and Infosys Foundation’s chairman Sudha Murthy attended this event as the chief guests. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and various other leaders and ministers of Karnataka were present at the event.

Puneeth is the ninth recipient of this honour. Karnataka Ratna was last awarded to Dr Virendra Heggade for social service in 2009. Puneeth’s father Dr Rajkumar was also the recipient of this award. Karnataka Ratna is awarded in recognition of a person’s extraordinary achievements in any field.

Puneeth was one of the top heroes of the Kannada film industry. He was fondly called as ‘Appu’ and ‘Power Star’ by his fans. He started off his career as a child artist. After debuting as a lead hero, he amassed a massive fan following in Karnataka by delivering back-to-back blockbusters. Apart from acting, Puneeth is also known for his philanthropy work. He is one of the actors who always had been on the frontline for social service. He died of a sudden cardiac arrest last year.

Recognizing his services to the field of cinema, the government of Karnataka decided to honour him with the Karnataka Ratna award. As a great actor and especially for being a great human being, Puneeth definitely deserves this award.