The actor is the ninth recipient of this prestigious honour that was granted to him on the occasion of the 67th Kannada Rajyotsava (the state formation day). The award was not given to anybody since 2009. It was last awarded to Dr. Virendra Heggade for social service in 2009.
The event was held at Vidhana Soudha in a hurried manner, due to sudden rains.
The Karnataka Ratna award consisting of a full silver plaque and a 50-gram gold medal, was received by the late actor’s wife Ashwini Puneeth Rajkumar, in the presence of his actor brother Shivarajkumar and other family members.