Amitabh Bachchan  

The country’s highest film honour, the Dadasaheb Phalke award, conferred for “outstanding contribution for the growth and development of Indian cinema” will be presented this year to Amitabh Bachchan.

The first intimation of it came via a tweet by Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar in which he stated that “The legend Amitabh Bachchan who entertained and inspired for two generations has been selected unanimously for #DadaSahabPhalke award. The entire country and international community is happy. My heartiest congratulations to him. @narendramodi @SrBachchan.”

Timely arrival

The award, very appropriately comes in the year that marks Mr. Bachchan’s golden jubilee in cinema.

He made his debut in 1969 with Khwaja Ahmad Abbas’ Saat Hindustani about seven Indians attempting to liberate Goa from Portuguese colonial rule. The same year he also did the voiceover for Mrinal Sen’s Bhuvan Shome , one of the earliest films of Indian parallel cinema. Interestingly, the Dadasaheb Phalke award itself was first presented in the year of Mr. Bachchan’s debut. It was introduced by the government in 1969 to commemorate the “father of Indian cinema” who directed Raja Harishchandra (1913), India’s first feature film, and it was awarded for the first time to Devika Rani, “the first lady of Indian cinema.” One of the most influential figures in Indian cinema for the past five decades, Mr. Bachchan, with four national awards and 15 Filmfare trophies behind him, has had a many-splendoured stint in the world of entertainment. The award comprises a Swarna Kamal (Golden Lotus), a shawl and a cash prize of Rs. 1,000,000.

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