Puneeth Rajkumar

Puneeth Rajkumar 17 March 1975 October 29 2021 affectionately known as Appu was an Indian actor playback singer film producer television presenter and philanthropist who worked in Kannada cinema He was the youngest son of legendary actor and matinee idol Dr Rajkumar He was one of the most popular actors in Kannada cinema He appeared as a lead in 32 films As a child he appeared in many films His performances as a child actor in Vasantha Geetha 1980 Bhagyavantha 1981 Chalisuva Modagalu 1982 Eradu Nakshatragalu 1983 Bhakta Prahaladha 1983 Yarivanu 1984 and Bettada Hoovu 1985 were praised He won the National Film Award for Best Child Artist for his role of Ramu in Bettada Hoovu He also won Karnataka State Award Best Child artist for Chalisuva Modagalu and Eradu Nakshatragalu Puneeths first lead role was in 2002s Appu In a career spanning three decades he has won one National Film Award four Karnataka State Film Awards six Filmfare Awards South and five SIIMA awards He was conferred with the Doctorate by Mysuru University The Karnataka Government conferred the states highest civilian award Karnataka Ratna to Puneeth Rajkumar on 1 November 2022 posthumously