Superstar Amitabh Bachchan in a touching video, remembered Puneeth Rajkumar and said that he can’t speak about him in the past tense. He went on to say that the most attractive quality about Puneeth was his endearing smile through which he was connected with all, and spoke about his legendary fan following. Puneeth’s wife took to Twitter to share the video and thanked Amitabh for his gracious words.
In the video, Amitabh also spoke about Puneeth's last film Gandhada Gudi. In the film, currently playing in cinemas, Puneeth appeared as himself. Sharing the video, Ashwini wrote, “Thank you for your gracious words and overwhelming gesture. Amitabh Bachchan sir. We are humbled by your expression.”
Talking about the film in the video, Amitabh said, “Puneeth in the film reminds people about the need to enrich our association with nature and live in harmony with it. It is a movie for our children.” Directed by Amoghavarsha JS, the film is a documentary on the wildlife of Karnataka. In the film, Puneeth and the director embark on a journey across the length and breadth of the state, exploring its rich bio-diversity.The film was released in October, and it was received well by the audiences. On 29 October 2021, Puneeth complained of uneasiness to his wife Ashwini, and died on his way to the hospital at the age of 46. The reason for his death was declared to be heart attack. He donated his eyes in accordance with a pledge by his father Rajkumar, that he along with all his family members will donate their eyes after death.