Puneeth Rajkumar's birth anniversary: Looking at his award-winning roles
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.
'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.
'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."
'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.
'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.
