South Indian actor Rajinikanth was conferred with the 51st Dadasaheb Phalke Award on October 25 at a ceremony at New Delhi’s Vigyan Bhawan.
The actor was honoured for his contribution to Indian cinema.
The day before, Rajinikanth opened about his pride at receiving the award.
“Tomorrow is an important occasion for me with two special landmarks,” he wrote on social media. “One, Dadasaheb Phalke Award, being conferred upon me by the Government of India because of the love and support of the people.” The second landmark was the launch of his daughter Soundarya’s app.
The Dadasaheb Phalke, awarded for excellence in cinematic achievement, is the highest honour in film and is awarded by the government.
The 2019 edition was postponed due to COVID-19, as were the National Film Awards for 2019 — both events were held today.
Rajinikanth made his movie debut in 1975 with K Balachander’s ‘Apoorva Ragangal’ and has completed more than 45 years in the Tamil film industry.
He was earlier also honoured with the third-highest civilian award, Padma Bhushan (2000), and the second-highest civilian award, Padma Vibhushan (2016).
