From Bidar to Chamarajnagar, Puneeth Rajkumar’s fans from across the state thronged his memorial at Kanteerava studio on Saturday, to pay tributes to the actor on the occasion of his first death anniversary.
The late actor’s family, friends, co-stars and fans from across the state poured in since 5.30 am.
Although people have been visiting the memorial in thousands for close to a week now, a police constable on duty said they were expecting at least three lakh people on Sunday.
The fans raised slogans hailing their hero. Many of them had travelled from various districts only to pay their respects.
“I could not come when he passed away. That guilt has remained with me. I thought I should at least pay tributes on his first death anniversary. So, I sponsored travel expenses for all those from my village who wanted to visit Appu’s memorial,” said Vishnu S, resident of a village near Haveri.
The crowd comprised people from all walks of life. From kids to senior citizens, college students to techies, everyone patiently waited for their turn to catch a glimpse of the actor’s samadhi.
Emotional fans
Many had booked tickets to watch Appu’s last movie ‘Gandhada Gudi’. “We want to spend the entire day in his memory. We visited the memorial early in the morning and booked tickets for an afternoon show of ‘Gandhada Gudi’. We plan to spend the evening watching Appu’s movies,” said Santosh K, a techie.
Emotions were running high as many of them broke down remembering their hero.
“He was an inspiration to many. The social service he has done has helped the needy. It is hard to believe he is no more,” said teary-eyed Yellamma, a 65-year-old who had travelled from Yadgir.
Free food
A day-long musical tribute was organised at the venue. Members from the Akhila Karnataka YuvaRajkumar Sangha distributed free food to visitors.
“Since many have travelled from afar, we wanted to ensure they do not go hungry. So, we distributed food packets. We plan to serve food to at least one lakh people,” said a volunteer serving food.
Slow-moving traffic
Though slow-moving traffic was reported in the area, no major traffic snarl was seen as the traffic police and the city police had deputed a large number of personnel to ensure smooth movement of vehicles. Many fans donated blood at the camp outside the venue.