Actor Rajinikanth received the 51st Dadasaheb Phalke Award on April 1. Union Minister Prakash Javadekar made the announcement on Twitter.
"Happy to announce Dadasaheb Phalke award for 2020 to one of the greatest actors in the history of Indian cinema Rajnikant," Javadekar said.
His contribution as actor, producer and screenwriter has been iconic, he added. The union minister also thanked the jury which comprised Asha Bhonsle, Mohanlal, Subhash Ghai, Biswajeet Chatterjee and Shankar Mahadevan.
In a separate tweet in Hindi, Javadekar said that the 5-member jury unanimously recommended Rajinikanth's name for the award.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
— Prakash Javadekar (@PrakashJavdekar) April 1, 2021
The announcement comes days before Tamil Nadu goes to poll. The state is set to elect a new assembly on April 6.
Rajinikanth had earlier announced that he would float his political party in January 2021 and contest the assembly election. However, after being hospitalised for fluctuation in blood pressure, the actor declared that will not get into politics.
He cited the COVID-19 pandemic and his health condition as reasons behind his decision.
His volte-face came a few days after he, earlier in December, sounded his poll bugle against the ruling AIADMK as well as opposition party DMK.
"The time has come to change the fate of Tamil Nadu. Political and government change in the state is important. It will surely change. Everything has to be changed. We will change everything," he had said.
Southern superstar's fans even held a peaceful demonstration demanding the actor take a plunge into Tamil Nadu politics. But the actor reiterated his earlier decision citing health issues.