On Saturday afternoon, the Karnataka government decided to postpone the final rites of Sandalwood superstar Puneeth Rajkumar, who passed away on Friday. The rites at Kanteerava Studios will be held with full state honours on Sunday and not today.

The rites have been postponed because Puneeth's daughter Drithi will be taking longer than expected to reach Bengaluru from New York (and tradition, as per the CM of Karnataka, doesn't allow funeral rites to be done after 7 pm). There is another reason as well: the administration wants to give fans rushing to Bengaluru from different parts of Karnataka enough time to pay last respects to their favourite matinee idol. Thousands of fans are turning emotional at the studios while catching a glimpse of Puneeth's mortal remains.

The government feels that an early funeral might result in law and order problems. The decision has been taken after duly consulting with Puneeth's family.

From the Telugu film industry, Nandamuri Balakrishna and Jr NTR have visited the Kanteerava Studios to pay last respects.