Bengaluru: The Kannada film industry has come to a grinding halt and all movie shows have been cancelled in the state as popular actor Puneeth Rajkumar, son of Kannada cinema legend Rajkumar, passed away at the age of 46 following a massive heart attack on Friday.
According to family sources, Puneeth suffered a heart attack while working out at a gym. Immediately he was shifted to Vikram Hospital. Dr Ranganath Nayak stated that his condition was critical when he was brought to the hospital. But the efforts of doctors to revive him went in vain.
Security has been beefed up all across the state including state capital Bengaluru to manage the situation. Bengaluru Police Commissioner Kamal Pant has reached the residence of Puneeth at Sadashivanagar. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and Kannada actor Puneeth's elder brother Shivarajkumar are also expected to address the media shortly.
Meanwhile, Former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, Karnataka Congress President D.K. Shivakumar and former Union minister S.M. Krishna expressed their condolences on the untimely death of Puneeth.
Puneeth was born on March 17, 1975, and was fondly known as 'Appu'. He is survived by his wife Ashwini and daughters Vanditha and Dhruthi.
He was also a singer, television presenter and producer. He acted in more than 29 films and has also appeared in many films as a child artist. He won the National Film Award for Best Child Artiste for his role in 'Bettada Hoovu'. He made his debut in the Kannada film industry with the movie 'Appu' in 2002.