Rajinikanth to be honored with Dadasaheb Phalke Award

Union Minister Prakash Javadekar today announced that Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2019 will be conferred upon South Indian icon Rajinikanth.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar today announced that the 51st Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2019 will be conferred upon actor Rajinikanth. Calling him "one of the greatest actors" in the history of Indian cinema, Javadekar added, "His contribution as actor, producer, and screenwriter has been iconic.". The actor will receive the country's highest film honor for 2019. The jury which picked Rajinikanth for the top award included singers, Asha Bhosle and Shankar Mahadevan, actors Mohanlal and Biswajeet, and filmmaker Subhash Ghai. The awards had been postponed last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Soon after, the actor responded after the announcement. He thanked the government for this honor bestowed upon him and dedicated this award to all those who have been with him in this journey.

Later, the Superstar himself took to Twitter to share a long note in Tamil, expressing his profound gratitude at the honor. Rajinikanth wrote, “I wholeheartedly thank the central government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for conferring me Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest award in the Indian Film Industry. I thank my bus driver and friend Raj Bahadur who discovered my acting talent and encouraged me, my brother Sathyanarayana Rao Gaekwad who sacrificed a lot while we were struggling in poverty to make me an actor, my guru K Balachander for creating ‘the Rajinikanth.’ I also thank my directors, producers, distributors, technicians, theatre owners, media, and Tamil people who have given me life. I dedicate this award to my fans across around the world. I thank Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, Deputy Chief Minister O Pannerselvam, opposition leader and my friend MK Stalin, my friend Kamal Haasan, other state and central leaders, industry friends, and my well-wishers. Long Live Tamils, May Tamil Nadu prosper, Jai Hind!”

Rajinikanth had made his debut in the film industry with the 1975 K Balachander movie Apoorva Raagangal. Post this, he was seen essaying ‘negative’ roles in films and many films followed. But it was the 1995 release Baashha, wherein he played a crime leader, that catapulted him further into the path of superstardom. A little more than a decade later, the artiste set on to set new benchmarks in Indian cinema. The superstar actor was last seen in 2020’s Darbar. He is currently filming his next, Annaatthe.

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