Puneeth Rajkumar's birth anniversary: Looking at his award-winning roles
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Late Kannada superstar Puneeth Rajkumar would have turned 49 today.
Actor, singer, leader and philanthropist Rajkumar has left behind a lasting legacy. Notably, he passed away in October 2021 after a sudden cardiac arrest.
A towering, inimitable figure in Kannada films, he worked extensively in cinema as a child artist before taking up lead roles.
Let's revisit some of his award-winning movies.
#1
'Jackie'
Jackie, which won Rajkumar the Udaya Film Award for Best Actor alongside a Filmfare Award nomination, was helmed by Duniya Soori and co-starred Sumithra, Bhavana, and Harshika Poonacha, among others.
A critical and commercial success, it earned acclaim for its performances, technical strengths, and the soundtrack by V. Harikrishna.
It was re-released on Friday as an ode to Rajkumar on his birth anniversary.
#2
'Raajakumara'
For Raajakumara, he was honored with the Love Lavike Readers Choice Award for Best Actor, Zee Kannada Hemmeya Kannadiga Award for Best Actor, Filmfare Award for Best Actor, and received a nomination for the TSR National Film Award for Best Actor.
IMDb describes it as, "A dutiful son, a prince in his father's eyes, retains his purity of character despite many challenges."
#3
'Milana'
Prakash's Milana, where Rajkumar was supported by Parvathy Thiruvothu and Pooja Gandhi, is about a young couple whose marital life crashes on the first night of their marriage.
Its success was humungous, so much so that it was remade in Odia as Something Something 2 and in Bengali as Ki Kore Toke Bolbo.
Rajkumar received the Karnataka State Film Award for his work.
#4
'Arasu'
The late actor became the recipient of a Filmfare Award for Arasu, also featuring Ramya, Srinivasa Murthy, and Shriya Saran in a cameo appearance.
The film revolves around a rich man's struggles to woo the girl he likes by taking up ordinary jobs to earn some money on his own; it was helmed by Mahesh Babu (Abhay, Akash).
Stream it on MX Player.