Karnataka: Small non-veg hotel patronised by Puneeth Rajkumar

Mandya: One of the famous patrons of Jai Bhuvaneshwari hotel in Baburayanakoppal in Srirangapatna taluk of Mandya district was Puneet Rajkumar. The hotel is known for its tasty non-vegetarian dishes.

Though the hotel, situated beside Bangaluru-Mysuru state highway, is small and non-descript, it has a long list of VIP customers including Puneeth.

It's is well-known for sheep head curry and leg soup. The actor is said to be fond of the dishes. During film shooting anywhere in Mysuru and Mandya districts Puneeth and his brother Shivarajkumar used to send their drivers to bring the head curry and soup, according to hotel owner Akash.

He said many actors like Darshan, Chiranjeevi Sarja would get parcels of the curries. Though Appu (Puneeth) liked to have food in hotel, he avoided the crowd. This love towards head curry started with his father Dr Raj Kumar who visited the hotel. Akash said that the hotel started in 1960s by his grandfather Sannegowda, is now being run by his five sons.

Another hotel patronised by the actors is in Halaguru in Mandya district. Babu Hotel is famous for soft idlis. The hotel owner Krishna told The Hans India that both Shivarajkumar and Puneet liked the Idly very much. He used to send idlis to the actors at the shooting locations. He recalled personally carrying idlis to Puneeth Rajkumar during the shooting of Arasu. Krishna said he had met the actor in Bengaluru last week when the actor told him he would visit Halaguru soon. Krishna who was shattered by the death of the actor said that he would never meet such a simple man in life.

Known for a generous heart, the actor gave financial help to the family of a farmer in Ganada Hosur village in Pandavapura taluk five years back when the breadwinner died by suicide unable to repay loans. He also donated furniture to Gejjalagere government school in Mandya taluk.