Puneeth with Dr Rajkumar's sister Nagamma.
Credit: DH File Photo
The late thespian Dr Rajkumar’s sister Nagamma, 94, passed away due to age-related ailments at her residence in Dodda Gajanuru of Talavadi taluk, Tamil Nadu, near Chamarajanagar on Friday.
Nagamma, who was living in the farmhouse, leaves behind four sons and two daughters.
The last rites will be held on their land near the farmhouse on Saturday, according to family sources. Dr Rajkumar’s family members are set to attend the funeral.
Whenever actor Shivarajkumar and his brother the late Puneeth Rajkumar used to come to Chamarajanagar, they used to meet Nagamma and inquire about her health. She was very fond of Puneeth Rajkumar (Appu) and was not told about his demise, relatives said. Nagamma, however, always wanted to see Appu.
“Appu, they say that you have completed 50 years. How are you? Come and meet me once. I want to see you,” family members recalled her words.
“We had been telling her that Puneeth was busy shooting and in foreign nations,” said Ramamurthy, a close relative.
She was affectionate towards Dr Rajkumar’s family members and had extra bonding and love towards Puneeth. It is said that Puneeth never missed an opportunity to meet his paternal aunt and taste the food cooked by her, whenever he visited Chamarajanagar district for shooting.
After the demise of his mother Parvathamma in 2017, Puneeth became very close to Nagamma.
She had stayed with Rajkumar at his house in Chennai and in Bengaluru and had taken care of his children along with hers, it is said. Later, due to age factor, she started living at Dodda Gajanuru farmhouse.