Popular actor Rajinikanth is the most recent recipient of the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India’s highest award in the field of cinema. Rajinikanth, one of the biggest superstars of the film industry has numerous films to his name and has a career spanning over 4 decades. The announcement was made on Thursday by the Information and Broadcasting Minister, Prakash Javadekar.
After the announcement was made, messages started pouring in from members of the film industry and others. PM Narendra Modi was among the first to tweet his congratulations.
Rajinikanth was working as a bus conductor before entering the film industry. Although his family was not too keen on his interest in acting, it was his friend and co-worker Raj Bahadur who encouraged him and provided financial support. He began his acting career with the film ‘Apoorva Raagangal’, playing an antagonistic role. The film, although controversial, received critical acclaim and his performance was observed as impressive. He continued to play villainous roles until the 1977 film ‘Chilakamma Cheppindi’, which was his first role as a lead actor. He established himself as a leading actor and starred in many commercially and critically successful films in all South Indian languages.
Now the recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke award, which is presented every year at the National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals, he is one among 51 awardees and stands among the most talented people of the film industry including Amitabh Bachchan, Asha Bhosle, Yash Chopra, and many others. After the announcement, Rajinikanth expressed his gratitude through twitter. He wrote,
“I wholeheartedly thank the central government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for conferring me Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest award in the Indian Film Industry. I thank my bus driver and friend Raj Bahadur who discovered my acting talent and encouraged me, my brother Satyanarayana Rao Gaekwad who sacrificed a lot while we were struggling in poverty to make me an actor, my guru K Balachander for creating ‘the Rajinikanth.’ I also thank my directors, producers, distributors, technicians, theatre owners, media, and Tamil people who have given me life. I dedicate this award to my fans across around the world. I thank Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, Deputy Chief Minister O Pannerselvam, opposition leader and my friend MK Stalin, my friend Kamal Haasan, other state and central leaders, industry friends, and my well-wishers. Long Live Tamils, May Tamil Nadu prosper, Jai Hind!”.
In his acclaimed career, he has also been awarded the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award in our country, in 2000 and the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award, in 2016.
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