Bengaluru: Popular Kannada actor Puneeth Rajkumar, son of Kannada cinema legend Rajkumar, passed away at the age of 46 following a massive heart attack on Friday. Consequently, security has been beefed up across Karnataka.

Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, Karnataka Congress President D K Shivakumar, and former Union minister S M Krishna expressed their condolences on the untimely death of Puneeth.

According to family sources, Puneeth suffered a heart attack while working out at a gym. Immediately he was shifted to Vikram Hospital. Dr Ranganath Nayak stated that his condition was critical when he was brought to the hospital. But the efforts of doctors to revive him went in vain.

Puneeth's health worsened on Thursday evening but he did not visit a doctor. He went to the gym in the morning and developed chest pain. He was taken to a private clinic where ECG was done. During check up, his condition worsened and he was rushed to Vikram Hospital, where he succumbed to cardiac arrest.

Puneeth has donated his eyes. He is survived by wife Ashwini Revanth and daughters Vanditha and Dhrithi.

Restless crowds of stunned fans milled around the hospital complex as news came in of the sudden death of the actor, the son of much loved matinee idol Rajkumar who fast outgrew his father's shadow to carve a place all his own in the Kannada showbiz industry.

Security has been beefed up all across the state including state capital Bengaluru to manage the situation. The Kannada film industry has come to a grinding halt and all movie shows have been cancelled in the state.

Bengaluru Police Commissioner Kamal Pant has reached the residence of Puneeth at Sadashivanagar. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and Kannada actor Puneeth's elder brother Shivarajkumar are also expected to address the media shortly.

Puneeth was born on March 17, 1975 and was fondly known as 'Appu'. He was also a singer, television presenter and producer. He acted in more than 29 films and has also appeared in many films as a child artiste. He won the National Film Award for Best Child Artiste for his role in 'Bettada Hoovu'. He made his debut in the Kannada film industry with the movie 'Appu' in 2002.

He recently finished the shoot of Chetan Kumar's 'James'. His elder brother is another Kannada superstar Shiv Rajkumar.

Puneeth's next project was to be 'Dvitva'. Dvitva's shoot was to begin on November 1.

Paying tributes, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday that the coming generations will remember Puneeth Rajkumar fondly for his works and wonderful personality.

Modi tweeted, "A cruel twist of fate has snatched away from us a prolific and talented actor, Puneeth Rajkumar. This was no age to go. The coming generations will remember him fondly for his works and wonderful personality. Condolences to his family and admirers. Om Shanti."

Last rites on Saturday

Puneeth's last rites will be held on Saturday after the return of his elder daughter Vanditha from the US.

Karnataka Revenue Minister R. Ashok stated that the actor's last rites will be conducted with state honours.

His mortal remains were taken to his residence from the hospital. Later, his body will be kept at Kanteerava stadium in Bengaluru after 6.30 p.m. for final viewing till late Saturday evening.

Raghavendra Rajkumar, elder brother of Puneeth, said that his younger sibling took him to hospital when he had suffered heart attack twice earlier. "He got the pacemaker for me. He brought me back from the hospital safely. But I could not bring him back. He went to see my parents," he said.

Raghavendra Rajkumar stated that nothing has been decided yet on the last rites.

"Puneeth's spouse is inconsolable and not in a position to talk. We will decide after discussion with all relatives. We have requested to make arrangements for public 'darshan'. We all know what happened at the time of the death of our father (Kannada film legend Rajkumar) (Seven people were shot dead in the large-scale violence that followed after his death) That should not happen," he stated.

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