Veteran actor Rajinikanth has received the 2019 Dadasaheb Phalke Award. Vice President Venkaiah presented the award to Rajinikanth. Union Minister Anurag Thakur described it as a historic moment in Indian cinema. Dhanush was also present at the awards ceremony in Delhi. Dhanush bagged the National Award for Best Actor of 2019.
The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is the highest honor for an artist in Indian cinema. There had been no nominee for the past three years after Amitabh Bachchan received the award in 2018.
Rajinikanth’s word at the ceremony:
“Good morning to the Honourable Vice President, Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Dr. L Murugan, all the dignitaries on stage, and the award winners. I am extremely happy to receive this prestigious award and would like to thank the Central government for this. I dedicate this award to my guru and mentor K Balachander sir, and I remember him with gratitude. I also dedicate this to my brother Thiru Sathyanarayana Rao Gaikwad, who was a father figure to me and raised me with great values instilling spirituality in me. He was the first person to identify the acting talent in me when I was a bus conductor and encouraged me to enter the world of cinema. I’d also like to thank all my producers, directors, technicians, co-artistes, distributors, media, and the press. I am nobody without them.” “They are the Gods who keep me living.”
On the work front, Rajinikanth’s new film Annaatthe is all set to hit screens this Deepavali.
