Puneeth Rajkumar's Parting Gift: Eyesight For 4 People, Message For All

Example set by the family has inspired over 1,000 people to pledge eyes at the eyebank named after Dr Rajkumar

The sudden death of Puneeth Rajkumar of a heart attack on Friday left his family and fans lost. But even in that moment of crushing grief, his brother Raghavendra called the eye bank, asking them to collect the actor's eyes for donation.

When thousands had gathered at Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru to say an emotional goodbye to the popular actor, doctors in an eye hospital in the city were transplanting his corneas into the eyes of four patients.

Eye donation is important for Puneeth's family. The eyes of his father and superstar Dr Rajkumar were donated in 2006 and those of his mother, Parvathamma, in 2017.

Dr Bhujang Shetty, chairman and managing director of Narayana Nethralaya, told NDTV, "I got a call from Raghavendra Rajkumar. It was he who called me when Dr Rajkumar died too. He said, "Doctor, this has happened. Kindly come and collect the eyes.'"