Puneeth Rajkumar was part of several running and cycling initiatives in Bengaluru, and his presence inspired thousands to take up fitness seriously.
The Kannada movie star, who died at 46 on October 29, regularly participated in running events such as the TCS 10 K run and the Bengaluru Marathon.
Madhukar B K, member of the group Soles of Bangalore, first met him at a cycling event. “I realised how humble he was. He mixed around with people. He conveyed the importance of fitness to everyone around him,” he says.
The last video that Puneeth did for the cause of cycling was a good luck message he recorded for Wg Cmdr Srinivas Gokulnath, who pedalled 2,240 km in just five days to become the first Indian to circumnavigate Karnataka on a cycle. “You must cycle more and inspire more people to take to cycling,” Puneeth says in the video. Major Abhijith Y V, (retd), the doctor in charge of the race, says “Puneeth’s love for cycling knew no end.”
Karthik Anand, businessman and member of Pacemakers, a group that practises at Lalbagh and Cubbon Park, says Puneeth’s sudden death has shaken the confidence of running enthusiasts.
“I have been running almost 100 km every week for 13 years. Last week, when I wanted to participate in a 42K race, my family was reluctant to let me go. They were afraid if something could happen to one as fit as Puneeth, it could happen to anybody,” says Karthik, who eventually participated and won the race. Puneeth commanded a lot of respect and admiration from fitness enthusiasts, he says.
The TCS 10K run brought a lot of prominent Bengalureans together. Reeth Abraham, Arjuna awardee and Asian medallist in long jump, recollects how Puneeth would jokingly say he may not be as fit as she was, but he was making up for it by working out every day.
“He was well aware of what he was capable of because he was working out for a long time. The last time we met was at a book event,” Reeth recalls.
Nanjundappa M, 33, a resident of Chandrapura near Attibele, is a regular marathoner, and was one of five chosen to run with Puneeth for the TCS run. “We were hand-picked and trained at Kanteerava Stadium in 2013. His commitment to fitness and his intensity of workout was remarkable.”
He loved home ‘oota’
Pramod Chandra, former state public prosecutor, says Puneeth always ate healthy and preferred home-cooked meals over restaurant food. “And his house was open to all and he would make sure you didn’t leave without having a meal,” recalls Pramod. Another aspect of Puneeth’s personality was that he did all the stunts on his own without using a body double. “He was that confident about pulling off the toughest feats for the screen,” he says.