Bhubaneswar: Famous Kannada actor Puneeth Rajkumar, who passed away today, loved his fans and used to celebrate his birthday with them, every year.

On the occasion of Puneeth Rajkumar's birthday, his fans would gather outside his house to get a glimpse of him. The actor never disappointed them as he would come out and cut his birthday cake with them. He also received gifts and bouquets from his fans.

Puneeth Rajkumar, son of Kannada cinema legend Rajkumar, passed away at the age of 46 following a massive heart attack on Friday. Puneeth Rajkumar’s mortal remains will be put to rest beside the grave of his father, the legendary actor of Kannada cinema Dr Rajkumar in Bengaluru. The order was issued in this regard by senior IAS officer N. Manjunath Prasad, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister on Friday.

Puneeth Rajkumar’s mother Parvathamma is also laid to rest in the same premises. The decision has been taken as per the wishes of his family. Civic agency of Bengaluru and the Police department have been asked to make necessary arrangements.

According to family sources, Puneeth suffered a heart attack while working out at a gym. Immediately he was shifted to Vikram Hospital. Dr Ranganath Nayak stated that his condition was critical when he was brought to the hospital. But the efforts of doctors to revive him went in vain.

Puneeth's health worsened on Thursday evening but he did not visit a doctor. He went to the gym in the morning and developed chest pain. He was taken to a private clinic where ECG was done. During check up, his condition worsened and he was rushed to Vikram Hospital, where he succumbed to cardiac arrest.

Puneeth has donated his eyes. He is survived by wife Ashwini and daughters Vanditha and Dhruthi.

Puneeth Rajkumar's last rites will be held on Saturday after the return of his elder daughter Vanditha from the US.

Raghavendra Rajkumar, elder brother of Puneeth, said that his younger sibling took him to hospital when he had suffered heart attack twice earlier. "He got the pacemaker for me. He brought me back from the hospital safely. But I could not bring him back. He went to see my parents," he said.

"Puneeth's spouse is inconsolable and not in a position to talk. We will decide after discussion with all relatives. We have requested to make arrangements for public 'darshan'. We all know what happened at the time of the death of our father (Kannada film legend Rajkumar) (Seven people were shot dead in the large-scale violence that followed after his death) That should not happen," he stated.

Dr Ranganath Nayak who treated Puneeth, explained that he developed chest pain after two hours of workout at a gym. He has consulted a family doctor and undergone ECG test.

"When, ECG results showed his condition was serious he was referred to our hospital. En route to hospital he suffered a massive cardiac arrest. When he was brought to hospital, there was no cardiac activity," he explained.

He further stated that the doctors tried to resuscitate Puneeth for three hours. "We have made all attempts to revive cardiac activity, but he could not be revived," he said.

(With IANS inputs)