Puneeth Rajkumar made his Kannada debut as a lead actor in the 2002 film Appu. Rakshitha was his co-star in the film.
Puneeth Rajkummar made his debut as a lead actor in Kannada cinema with Appu in April 2002. Directed by Puri Jagannadh, the film also marked the debut of Rakshitha as a female lead in a Kannada film. Both of them went on to become big heartthrobs. While Puneeth was active in film till his last breath, Rakshitha made an exit during her peak from films after her marriage to filmmaker Prem. Born as Shweta on March 31, 1984, she is known by her stage name Rakshitha.
Puneeth Rajkummar suffered a heart attack this morning, October 29. He was taken to Bengaluru’s Vikram Hospital. He died in the afternoon.
WHO IS RAKSHITHA?
Firsts are always special. Puneeth Rajkumar’s first female co-star was also close to him. Both of them began their acting careers as lead actors together with Appu (2002). The film was directed by Puri Jagannadh. It was remade in Telugu and Tamil.
Puneeth became a big name in the Kannada film industry after working on back-to-back hit films. Rakshitha, however, decided to take a break in 2007 and tied the knot with filmmaker Prem. Apart from working in the Kannada industry, the actress also worked in Tamil and Telugu film.
RAKSHITHA’S STINT AT FILMS
Rakhitha made her debut as a lead actress with Appu, 2002. She also appeared in the Tamil and Telugu remake of the film. In 2003, Rakshitha was seen in three Telugu films – Pellam Oorelithe, Nijam and Shivamani. In the same year, she did two Kannada films – Gokarna and Vijayasimha. Before getting married in 2007, she appeared in the Kannada film Thayiya Madilu.
RAKSHITHA ON TELEVISION
Rakshitha made a comeback with the television show, Swayamvara. She was the host of the reality show. The actress then appeared in a number of television shows as a judge. Some of them include Thaka Dimi The Dancing Star (2014), Putani Pantru Season 2 (2015), Comedy Khiladigalu (2017), Dance Karnataka Dance- Family War (2017) and Comedy Khiladigalu Season 2, among others.
RAKSHITHA IN POLITICS
In March 2012, Rakshitha announced that she had joined the Badavara Shramikara Raitara (BSR) Congress, which was founded by politician B Sriramulu. She served as the President of the women’s wing of the BSR Congress till April 2013, when she quit the party citing differences with the party members over contesting elections from a constituency of her choice in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly election. She later joined the Janata Dal (Secular). She quit the party as she said that her plea for a ticket to contest from Mandya in the 2014 general election was ignored. In March 2014, she joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).