BENGALURU: The state's highest civilian award, Karnataka Ratna, was conferred on Kannada actor Puneeth Rajkumar posthumously in the presence of Tamil superstar Rajinikanth, Telugu actor Junior NTR, philanthropist Sudha Murty and thousands of fans.
Chief minister Basavaraj Bommai handed over the award to Puneeth's wife Ashwini at a grand function held on the steps of Vidhana Soudha. Actors Shivarajkumar, Raghavendra Rajkumar and their family members were present. The award carried a citation made of silver and 50gm gold. Puneeth is the ninth and youngest person to receive the honour.
The untimely rain, however, played spoilsport as the function had to be wrapped up in just 20 minutes, leaving Puneeth's fans who had gathered in large numbers from across the state disappointed. Revenue minister R Ashoka, who was in charge of the function, said it had rained when Puneeth's father and Kannada matinee idol Rajkumar was honoured with Karnataka Ratna in 1992 at the same venue.
Rajinikanth recalled his memories with Puneeth while calling him 'god's son'. "Appu is loved by people not only because of his films but for his humanity and helping nature too. He donated crores of rupees without giving even a clue about it to others. This, I think, brought lakhs of people to pay their last respects when he died," Rajinikanth said.
He likened Puneeth to MGR, Shivaji Ganeshan, NTR and Rajkumar, who left an everlasting impression on people of their respective states.
Junior NTR, a good friend of Puneeth's, said the late actor was humanity personified who won the hearts of Kannadigas through his humility and smile. "He was a good actor, husband, father and friend. Above all, he was a great human being. He was a real Karnataka Ratna (jewel of Karnataka) in every sense," he said.
The CM said it was an honour for his government to confer Karnataka Ratna on Puneeth. "The event is being held at Vidhana Soudha but the entire state is celebrating this moment," he said.