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The grand pre-release event of the late Kannada superstar Puneeth Rajkumar’s last film, Gandhada Gudi, is set to take place on Friday, October 21, at Bengaluru’s Sri Krishna Vihar Palace Grounds at 6 pm. The star passed away due to a cardiac arrest on October 29 last year. Bankrolled by PRK Productions, the home banner of the actor and his wife, producer Ashwini Rajkumar, ‘Puneetha Parva’ is part of a series of events being organised in the late actor’s memory, ahead of his first death anniversary on October 29.
Sources from PRK Productions confirmed to TNM that Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai will be attending the event. As per media reports, several actors including Yash, Upendra, Rakshit Shetty, Ramesh Aravind, Duniya Vijay, Raishankar Gowda, and Sai Kumar are likely to be present at the event. Actors Kamal Haasan, Prabhu Deva, Siddharth, Akhil Akkineni, Suriya, Balakrishna, and Rana Daggubati are also expected to attend the pre-release event.
According to sources at PRK, the event will also feature performances by artistes including Shivaraj Kumar, Ramya Spandana, and Prabhudeva, among others. Anchor Anushree is set to host the event, while singers Kunal Ganjavala, Armaan Malik and Vijay Prakash will also take part in the programme. Actor and singer Raghavendra Rajkumar, Puneeth’s brother, will also be performing at the event.
A host of promotional activities and events will be held throughout the week to mark Puneeth's death anniversary. Fans have reportedly gathered outside his residence in Bengaluru to pay tribute to Puneeth, who was fondly known as Appu. Huge cut-outs have been erected in different parts of the city to promote the pre-release event. Images and videos of the venue, decorated with Puneeth’s movie posters and paintings featuring his characters, are being shared by fans on social media.
Few Hours To Go
— KING (@Godappuboss) October 21, 2022
Bang Bang #DrPuneethRajlumar #PuneethParva #PuneethRajkumar #GandhadaGudi pic.twitter.com/WPZApRdhlK
All Set To Be Today #PuneethaParva Event @PuneethRajkumar @Ashwini_PRK @anushreevj #drrajkumar #raghavendrarajkumar #drshivarajkumar #puneethrajkumar #kingappu #appulivesoon #prkfc017 pic.twitter.com/OeRLLq9wg3
— PRKFC017 (@PRKFC17) October 21, 2022
Earlier this week, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai had announced that Puneeth will be conferred with the Karnataka Ratna award posthumously on November 1. He will be the 10th recipient of the state’s highest civilian honour. CM Bommai also said that the award will be given on the occasion of Kannada Rajyotsava.