Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday congratulated megastar Rajinikanth after it was announced that he will be conferred with the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2019 for his stupendous contribution to the world of Indian cinema.
Taking to Twitter, PM Modi commented that 'Thalaiva' had a body of work few can boast of, along with diverse roles and an endearing personality.
"Popular across generations, a body of work few can boast of, diverse roles and an endearing personality...that's Shri @rajinikanth Ji for you. It is a matter of immense joy that Thalaiva has been conferred with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award. Congratulations to him," he tweeted.
The news of Rajnikanth's conferment was announced by Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar earlier today.
"Happy to announce #Dadasaheb Phalke award for 2020 to one of the greatest actors in history of Indian cinema Rajnikant ji," Javadekar tweeted.
Speaking about the 'Robot' actor's contribution as an actor, producer, and screenwriter, Javadekar added, "His contribution as actor, producer and screenwriter has been iconic I thank Jury @ashabhosle @SubhashGhai1 @Mohanlal @Shankar_Live Biswajeet Chatterjee."
The Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2019 should have been announced last year but was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, as were the National Film Awards for 2019.
The Dadasaheb Phalke, awarded for excellence in cinematic achievement, is the highest honour in film and is awarded by the government. The recipient of the 2018 award was Amitabh Bachchan, Rajinikanth's close friend and co-star from Hum.
The 70-year-old star has featured in Bollywood as well as South Indian films and has a humongous fan following. The '2.0' star had made his debut in 1975 with K Balachander's 'Apoorva Ragangal' and has completed more than 45 years in the Tamil film industry. Rajinikanth was last seen in AR Murugadoss's 'Darbar'. Currently, he is shooting for his upcoming film 'Annaatthe'.
( With inputs from ANI )
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