Sandalwood's power star Puneeth Rajkumar is no more. According to media reports, the 46-year-old actor passed away on Friday, October 29, after suffering a massive cardiac arrest while working out in the gym.
He was admitted at Vikram Hospital in Bengaluru. His brother Shivrajkumar and his daughter Niveditha and other members of Dr Rajkumar's family reportedly rushed to the hospital as well. According to media reports, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj S Bommai, actors Yash, Crazy Star Ravichandran and producers Jayanna and K P Sreekanth were there at the hospital.
The news has sent shockwaves across Karnataka. Puneeth's elder brother Shivarajkumar was busy promoting his film Bajrangi 2, and the late actor had wished his brother in the morning with a tweet.
Puneeth's next movie release is Yuvarathnaa, directed by Santhosh Ananddram and he had just finished shooting for Chethan Kumar's James, alongside Priya Anand. He was expected to start shooting Dvitva, directed by Pawan Kumar from November 1.
Puneeth's PRK Production in association with Mudskipper, was also going to produce a project capturing the beauty of Karnataka state. The project was said to be about an adventurous journey taken by Puneeth and captured by filmmaker and wildlife photographer, Amoghavarsha. There were rumours of the Power Star traveling extensively in the coastal belt a couple of months ago, and a few pictures from this trip did surface on social media. A congratulatory message by Puneeth to the Wild Karnataka team on receiving 67th National Film Awards had further added fuel to the rumours.
Puneeth who was fondly called Appu and Power Star, started performing as a child actor, his career spanned over two decades in Sandalwood.