Puneeth Rajkumar Laid To Rest With State Honours; Chiranjeevi And Venkatesh Shed Tears

In the presence of Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Kannada superstar Puneeth Rajkumar was laid to rest and bidden final goodbye after his untimely and tragic death left thousands of his fans, friends and family members in shock and grief. Wrapped in the tricolour, he was accorded state honours.?

Apart from several South film personalities like N Balakrishna, Chiranjeevi, Junior NTR, Venkatesh, Arjun Sarja and Prabhu Deva, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai also got emotional.?

He also gave him a farewell kiss and called it a personal loss. "It was a personal bonding with the entire family and more so with 'Appu' (as Mr Rajkumar was fondly called). I had seen him as a boy. We had relations since those days. Therefore I am giving him a final salute. Certainly, I was emotional".

According to ANI, “Daughter of actor Puneeth Rajkumar has reached Delhi (from US) & will arrive in Bengaluru by 7 pm today. As per our tradition, we don't perform funeral after sunset. His last rites will be performed at Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru tomorrow: Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai".

Chiranjeevi and Venkatesh shed tears as they paid homage to the young actor who succumbed to cardiac arrest on Friday. Chiranjeevi said, "We miss you Appu (Puneeth). God has taken you because you were a good person. May the Almighty give strength to your family. May your soul rest in peace. Whenever we came to Bengaluru, we visited Rajkumar’s family. We got used to it. It was a good experience. Puneeth was a genuine person with a good heart and soul."

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Puneeth was the son of matinee idol Rajkumar. He was fondly called Appu by his fans. He made his debut as a child artist with his father in the early 1980s. His best known films included Raam, Hudugaru, and Anjani Putra. He was last seen in the film Yuvarathnaa.