CHENNAI: On Tuesday, during the 67th Kannada Rajyotsava, the late actor Puneeth Rajkumar conferred posthumously the highest civilian honour of Karnataka, the "Karnataka Ratna" (the state formation day). He is the ninth person to get this esteemed award.

Due to unforeseen rains, the ceremony on the steps of Vidhana Soudha, the location of the state assembly and secretariat, had to be shortened and held quickly.

At the ceremony where Karnataka Ratna was awarded to Puneeth Rajkumar by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, movie stars Rajinikanth and Junior NTR, as well as Infosys Foundation Chairperson Sudha Murty, were among the attendees.

In the presence of the late actor's actor brother Shivarajkumar and other family members, Ashwini Puneeth Rajkumar accepted the Karnataka Ratna award, which came with a full silver plaque and a 50 gram gold medal.
Ministers, political figures, legislators, as well as other well-known figures from the literary and cinematic industries, are likely to attend the event. Several renowned singers, including Vijay Prakash, sang before the performances.
The Ambedkar Road in front of the Vidhana Soudha was congested and closed to traffic due to the massive number of people that had descended on the event. The traffic police recommended commuters to take alternate routes.
Puneeth, the youngest of Dr. Rajkumar's five children and widely regarded as the current king of Kannada film, passed away on October 29, 2021, at the age of 46 from a heart arrest.

Dr. Virendra Heggade received the Karnataka Ratna for social service last in 2009.

It's interesting to note that in 1992, along with renowned poet Kuvempu, Puneeth's late father Rajkumar was one of the inaugural recipients of the Karnataka Ratna award.

S Nijalingappa (politics), CNR Rao (science), Bhimsen Joshi (music), Shivakumara Swamiji (social service), and Dr. J Javaregowda are more honorees (Education & Literature).

Puneeth, well known by his admirers as "Appu" and "power star," had his screen debut at the age of six months and later won a national award for best child actor for the movie "Bettada Hoovu." In 2002, he then made a comeback as a leading man, appearing in 29 films, including major blockbusters.

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