Allu Arjun remembers Puneeth Rajkumar, calls him the pride of south

Kannada actor Puneeth Rajkumar was laid to rest after final rites were conducted at Kanteerava Studio in the presence of his family members, friends and ruling and opposition leaders of all political parties in Bengaluru. The final rites were conducted as per the traditions of Ediga community of the Hindu religion. Several celebrities mourned his death, including Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Chiranjeevi, Rakul Preet Singh, Rana Daggubatti, Junior NTR. Now, Allu Arjun opened up about his death at the trailer launch of Pushpaka Vimanam. At the launch, an emotional Arjun recalled his strong bond of friendship with Puneeth, and how he would visit his residence. He talked about the unpredictability of life and was shocked when Rana Daggubati called to give him the news.

“We had a mutual respect for each other. Suddenly he’s not there. Suddenly, he’s just not there. When I heard the news the first time, I was shocked. It’s gotten heavy on me, just in a click of a snap, I was so shocked. Life is so unpredictable, we just don’t know. I understand that all of us are in the same zone. A great soul, superstar Puneeth Rajkumar, who has done so much for Kannada industry, the big pride of South industry and the film industry.” He asked the audience to stand up and pay their respect for him as well.Actor Chiranjeevi, who was present at the funeral, called it a great loss as well. He told ANI, “It’s a great loss to Kannada film industry…losing our Appu, the Power Star of Karnataka. He was very close to our family… Many memories with him, right from his father Rajkumar’s times.” Kichcha Sudeep wrote an emotional farewell post too.Puneeth had suffered a heart attack on October 29 and was admitted to the hospital’s intensive care unit. He developed chest pain in the morning and visited his family doctor for an ECG. Following the ECG, he was asked to rush to the hospital. He was admitted to Vikram Hospital’s ICU in a serious condition around 11.30 am, a doctor at the hospital said.