Megastar Rajinikanth, who is hailed as Thalaivar by his fans, has congratulated his good friend and actor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan on being conferred the French honour Chevalier de L'Ordre Arts et Letters (The Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters).
He referred to him as the Sivaji Ganesan of this generation.
"I wish this generation's Chevalier Sivaji and my good friend Kamal Haasan for receiving the prestigious award," Rajinikanth wrote in Tamil on his Twitter page.
Sivaji Ganesan, a legendary actor, ruled Tamil cinema in the latter half of the 20th century. He did almost 300 films in a career spanning five decades. He was the first Tamil actor to be conferred the Chevalier award.
The honour, which is yet another laurel for actor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan, is in recognition of his high level of artistic excellence and his distinguished career achievements. The award will be conferred on him at a special ceremony soon.
Kamal has dedicated the award to his admirers and audience.
"This award is to those who give me the tenacity of purpose to pursue to this day in moment my arts and letters," Haasan said in an audio message.
He also said he realised he's not alone in his chosen field.
"Teachers and admirers are bounded around me. With motherly care, they have applauded my every little step forward. The melancholy of my parents not being alive to see this day is allayed by the fact the elders and the young in my family are around to enjoy it," he said.
