HUBBALLI: Puneeth Rajkumar who passed away after a cardiac arrest yesterday, had a special connection with Hubballi since his father Rajkumar’s time. He would often visit Hubballi for his film promotions and for shooting. He made it a point to visit the Siddharoodha mutt every time he visited the city.
Since his father’s time, all the family members went for the darshan of the mutt. It is said when Rajkumar was a theatre artist, he often visited Hubballi to stage plays here, since then he had been a devotee to the mutt. The same has been continued by the family members till today.
In March, the late actor was in Hubballi to promote his movie Yuvarathnaa where a large number of fans were gathered on Gokul road in the city to see him. The shooting of the same movie was held in Dharwad. Many of his films that were shot in the city include Doddamane Huguda, Abhi, Ajay and other movies.
He always loved to visit and had a special bond with the city. During the Dr. Raj Cup cricket tournament he visited for a few days. He was administered Lingadikshe by Sidhagimath seer in Haveri along with his family members in the 1980s.
He was also named as a brand ambassador of Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation’s cleanliness drive in 2019. When the HDMC mayor Sudhir Saraf had approached the actor, he immediately accepted the request and became an ambassador.
Soon after his death was declared, his fans mourned the unexpected death of their beloved actor. Some of his fans paid tribute to the portrait of Puneet Rajkumar at Kittur Chennamma circle. Many of his fans from Hubballi and Dharwad have left for Bengaluru to take part in the funeral.
Prema Naduvinmani, an actor who acted in Yuvarathnna movie said, "Punit had multiple talents, one can learn from his style, from his words, his gustiness, acting. In total he was a person with a blend of many qualities."
“Though we are the part-time actors he showed great respect and he used to sit with other co-workers irrespective of the position. He had great respect for the Kannada language and used more Kannada words during speaking. He was an expert in other languages but his love towards the Kannada language was immense”, she added.