Kannada actor Puneeth Rajkumar dies aged 46 after heart attack

Kannada actor Puneeth Rajkumar has reportedly died after been hospitalised due to a heart attack on October 29 in Bengaluru.

The 46-year-old star was admitted at Vikram Hospital, reports say, and was in the Intensive Care Unit.

Earlier, it was reported that Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj S Bommai visited the hospital to check on Puneeth’s status, while hoards of fans also crowded outside.

A statement from the hospital's consultant cardiologist said his condition was serious.

"We are trying our best to treat him. His condition is serious. We can't say anything as of now. His condition was bad when he was brought to the hospital," Dr Ranganath Nayak said, according to tweet from ANI, at the time.

IANS reported that Puneeth has donated his eyes. He is survived by wife Ashwini and daughters Vanditha and Dhruthi.

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 the son of late legendary Kannada actor Rajkumar and Parvathamma. He acted in more than 29 Kannada films such as ‘Veera Kannadiga’, ‘Appu’ and ‘Hudugaru’. The actor’s most recent movie was this year’s ‘Yuvarathnaa’.

Flood of condolences

Indian celebrities have taken to social media to mourn the death of the actor.

Former cricketer Virender Sehwag shared a touching note.

Kerala actor Tovino Thomas expressed his disbelief at the tragedy.

Bollywood actor Sonu Sood also shared his condolences.

Bollywood movie producer Boney Kapoor praised the late actor.

South Indian actor Chiranjeevi called it a loss for the Kannada film fraternity.