SIIMA 2022 pays a heartfelt tribute to Kannada star Puneeth Rajkumar; honours the late actor with Best Actor award

At the South Indian International Awards 2022, late Kannada actor Puneeth Rajkumar receives a heartwarming tribute.

South Indian International Awards 2022 (SIIMA), a star-studded night, was dominated by popular stars such as Allu Arjun, Rana Daggubati, Rashmika Mandanna, Pooja Hegde, and many others. Interestingly, the award night also paid a tribute to the late Kannada actor Puneeth Rajkumar. In his honour, the award night presented him with the Best Actor in a Leading Role (Kannada) award for Yuvarathnaa.

SIIMA 2022 pays a heartfelt tribute to Kannada star Puneeth Rajkumar; honours the late actor with Best Actor award

Interestingly, the entire team of Yuvarathnaa accepted the award with an ear-to-ear smile on his behalf. While sharing a glimpse of the same, SIIMA shared a tweet with fans. The caption of the post read, “When Late Puneeth Rajkumar ascended to heaven, the Kannada film industry lost one of its most valuable stars. SIIMA is humbled to present him with the Best Actor in a Leading Role (Kannada) for the movie Yuvarathnaa. We thank the Yuvarathnaa team for accepting it on his behalf”.

When Late #PuneethhhhhRajkumar ascended to heaven, the Kannada film industry lost one of its most valuable stars#SIIMA is humbled to present him with the Best Actor in a Leading Role (Kannada) award for Yuvarathnaa. We thank the Kannada film fraternity for accepting it on his behalf pic.twitter.com/eRZEwogQHJ

— SIIMA (@siima) September 11, 2022

For the unversed, the Yuvaranthnaa star passed away after suffering from a serious cardiac arrest in October 2021. The late actor made his debut on screen with his father when he was just six months old. Later, Puneeth won a National Film Award for Best Child Artist for his performance in the 1985 film 'Bettada Hoovu'. Apart from being an actor, he was also a singer and was admired for his dance skills.

Fondly known as Appu, the actor was known for hosting Kannadada Kotyadhipati, the Kannada version of the quiz show Kaun Banega Crorepati.

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