The honor is considered India’s highest film award.
The Center on Thursday announced the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award for Rajinikanth for his contribution as an actor, producer and screenwriter.
Announcing the decision in New Delhi, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said: “For the past 50 years, Rajinikanth has been ruling the film industry. Your work is like the sun. Through his talent and hard work, he has made a place in the hearts of millions of people ”. The award will be presented to Rajinikanth on May 3.
Happy to announce the #Dadasaheb Phalke award for 2019 to one of the best actors in the history of Indian cinema RajinikantHee. His contribution as an actor, producer and screenwriter has been iconic, ”Mr. Javadekar later tweeted.
Instituted in 1969, the award is the highest honor for an artist in Indian cinema.
It is presented annually at the National Film Awards Ceremony by the Film Festival Directorate, an agency of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The award was decided by a five-member jury: Asha Bhonsle, director Subhash Ghai, Mohanlal, Shankar Mahadevan, and actor Biswajeet Chatterjee.
Rajinikanth in his upcoming film ‘Annaatthe’
After Amitabh Bachchan received the award in 2018, he had not nominated for the past three years.
Before the elections
The decision is made five days before the Assembly election in Tamil Nadu, where the superstar has a large following.
Three years after taking the first step into politics, Rajinikanth recently announced that he would not take the step after all, citing poor health as a reason and not going ahead with his party formation. The BJP had hoped for an alliance with its proposed political party.
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