In a humbling gesture, superstar Rajinikanth has dedicated the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke Award, announced by the Centre to be presented to him, to those who supported him during his struggling days, including his guru late K. Balachander and a friend who happens to be a bus driver.
Earlier in the day, the Prakash Javadekar, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister, announced that the prestigious 51st Dadasaheb Phalke Award will be honoured to the superstar. The actor is the third individual, after Sivaji Ganesan and late director Balachander, to receive the award from the Tamil Film industry. He is also the 12th South Indian to get this award. Legends like Dr Rajkumar, Akkineni Nageshwar Rao have been awarded before.
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Premium Following the announcement, congratulatory messages came to him from various quarters. Long-time friend and contemporary Kamal Haasan, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami, his deputy O Panneerselvam, DMK President M K Stalin are among those who congratulated the southern superstar.
The actor later thanked the Centre for the award and said he dedicated it to all those who made him the Rajini that is now. He said, "I dedicate this award to my friend and bus driver Raj Bahadur, who discovered my acting talent and encouraged me, my elder brother Sathyanarayana Rao Gaekwad, who sacrificed a lot to make me an actor while struggling with poverty, my guru K Balachander, who created this Rajinikanth."
In a writen statement he also dedicated the award to producers, directors, technicians, distributors, theatre owners, media, the Tamil people, "who have given me my life, and my fans across the world."
Rajinikanth said he thanked the Indian government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for conferring him the "Indian cinema's highest honour."
"My heartfelt thanks to the government of india, respected & dearest @narendramodi ji, @PrakashJavdekar ji and the jury for conferring upon me the prestigious #DadasahebPhalkeAward. I sincerely dedicate it to all those who have been a part of my journey. Thanks to the almighty," he tweeted.
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Premium Premium Earlier in the day, the prime minister also congratulated him on the award.
The star thanked Palaniswamy, Panneerselvam, Leader of Opposition Stalin, "my friend Kamal Haasan," national and state politicians, his friends, his friends in the film industry and my well-wishers.
"Long live Tamil people! Long live Tamil Nadu! Jai Hind!!," he said.
The legendary actor has been honoured with the Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan in the past.
The jury this year for the prestigious award included playback icon Asha Bhosle, director-producer Subhash Ghai, Malayalam superstar Mohanlal, music composer and singer Shankar Mahadevan and Biswajeet Chatterjee.
(With inputs from agencies)
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