Tamil movie icon Rajinikanth, whom his lakhs of fans call 'Thalaiva' (leader), was on Thursday chosen for the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke award, an announcement from the Centre that came just six days ahead of the Assembly polls in Tamil Nadu.
The 70-year-old actor's name was announced for the highest cinema honour in the country named after the father of Indian cinema by Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar here. The 51st Phalke award for the year 2019 will be presented to Rajinikanth on May 3.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed "Thalaiva" for his contribution. "Popular across generations, a body of work few can boast of, diverse roles and an endearing personality...that's Rajinikanth-ji for you. It is a matter of immense joy that Thalaiva has been conferred with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award. Congratulations to him," Modi said in a tweet.
"Happy to announce Dadasaheb Phalke award for 2020 to one of the greatest actors in the history of Indian cinema Rajnikant- ji, " Javadekar said. His contribution as actor, producer and screenwriter has been iconic, he added.
Rajinikanth, who debuted in the 1975 Tamil film Apoorva Ragangal directed by K Balachander, was chosen by a jury which included singer Asha Bhonsle, Malayalam superstar Mohan Lal, veteran filmmaker Subhash Ghai, well-known singer Shankar Mahadevan and Bengali actor Biswaheet Chatterjee.
Javadekar said Rajinikanth has been the "uncrowned king" of the film world and he has been "shining like the sun in the film world. He has created a space in the hearts of the people through his talent, hard work and diligence". From Kamal Hasan to Vijay Sethupathy, a large number of people congratulated Rajinikanth.
The honour for Rajinikanth comes at a time Tamil Nadu is witnessing a high-voltage electoral battle where AIADMK in alliance with the BJP is fighting to retain power against a resurgent M K Stalin-led DMK.
In December last year, Rajinikanth went back on his announcement that his party would contest the Assembly polls and there has been a buzz that the BJP was working overtime to woo him to their side and indicate his support for the coalition. Rajinikanth said he will not enter politics in view of his frail health.
Asked about the timing of the announcement, Javadekar said, "this is an award related to the film world and Rajinikanth has been working for 50 years...one must ask proper questions."
His son-in-law Dhanush recently won the national award for best actor for his role in Asuran
Devika Rani was the first winner of the Phalke award while Amitabh Bachchan was the most recent winner. Filmmakers LV Prasad and K Balachander, who directed Rajinikanth's debut film, were the only two others who won Phalke awards from Tamil Nadu.