The 51st Dadasaheb Phalke Award will be conferred upon actor Rajinikanth, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar announced on Thursday. Taking to Twitter, Javadekar announced, "Happy to announce #Dadasaheb Phalke award for 2020 to one of the greatest actors in history of Indian cinema Rajnikant ji. His contribution as actor, producer and screenwriter has been iconic. I thank Jury @ashabhosle, @SubhashGhai1, @Mohanlal, @Shankar_Live, #BiswajeetChatterjee"
The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India's highest award in cinema. It is presented annually at the National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals, an organisation set up by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The recipient is honoured for their "outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema". The recipient is selected by a committee of distinguished personalities from the Indian film fraternity. As per Javadekar's tweet, this year the jury members were -- singer Asha Bhosle, filmmaker Subhash Ghai, actor Mohanlal, singer-composer Shankar Mahadevan and veteran actor Biswajeet Chatterjee.
Widely regarded as one of the most popular cinematic icons in India, Rajinikanth has also been honoured with the Padma Bhushan in 2000 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2016 by the Government of India. The Tamil superstar, who enjoys a demigod status, made his debut in Tamil cinema with "Apoorva Raagangal". Among his numerous hits are films like "Baashha", "Sivaji" and "Enthiran". He is known as Thalaivar or leader by his fans. Rajinikanth was last seen in AR Murugadoss's Darbar and is looking forward to the release of Annaatthe.
Also read: Rajinikanth starrer 'Annaatthe' to release on November 4
Rajinikanth will be the 12th South Indian superstar to be honoured with Dadasaheb Phalke Award. The most recent recipient of the award is actor Amitabh Bachchan who was honoured at the 66th National Film Awards ceremony.
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