I was in ICU when Puneeth Rajkumar died, says an emotional Rajinikanth

Puneeth Rajkumar’s untimely death had shocked everyone. Many dignitaries from the industry attended the last rites, but Rajinikanth, who had a strong connection with the late actor, could not do so.

There were many questions raised about his absence and he was also brutally trolled for remembering Puneeth two weeks after his death on October 29, 2021. Recently at an event, Rajinikanth and Jr NTR were special chief guests where Kannada legend Puneeth Rajkumar was conferred with Karnataka’s highest civilian award —Karnataka Ratna — posthumously.

Rajinikanth turned emotional and broke down when he remembered the late actor. The legendary actor even revealed the reason why he could not attend Puneeth Rajkumar’s funeral. He said, “I underwent an operation and was in ICU when Puneeth died. I was only informed about his passing after three long days, owing to my health condition at that time. I would never want to lose that child’s smiling face from my memory.” — TMS