Veteran actor Mithun Chakraborty received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the government's highest recognition in the field of cinema, on Tuesday.
President Droupadi Murmu presented the prestigious award to Chakraborty, star of films such as Mrigayaa, Disco Dancer, and Prem Pratigya, during the 70th National Film Awards ceremony at Vigyan Bhawan.
The cinema veteran, who was wearing an arm brace in his right hand, received a standing ovation from the A-list gathering as he walked to the stage along with an aid.
"I have come on this stage once again thanks to your blessings. Nothing was handed to me on a platter, I struggled a lot. But today, after receiving this award, I have stopped complaining. Thank you God, you gave me everything back and with interest," Chakraborty, 74, said in his speech.
He also shared a few tips for budding talent across India. "Our country has many talented people, but what they don't have is money. I'd like to tell them that you may not have money, but don't lose hope. Keep dreaming. Sleep but don't let your dream sleep." Chakraborty, whose real name is Gourang Chakraborty, received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2022.
This honour comes months after Chakraborty, a member of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was awarded Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian honour. The actor is an alumnus of Pune's Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) who has predominantly worked in Hindi and Bengali cinema.
The President congratulated Chakraborty for receiving the Dadasaheb Phalke award and said that in his artistic journey of almost five decades, Mithunji has not only portrayed serious characters on screen but has also portrayed with success many ordinary stories with his “unique energy.”
Malayalam film “Aattam: The Play” won the award for the best feature film, along with wins in screenplay and editing categories.
Bollywood’s Sooraj R Barjatya was adjudged the best director for the Hindi movie “Uunchai”.
The award for the best actor went to Rishab Shetty for Kannada hit “Kantara” which also took home the prize for best popular film award for providing wholesome entertainment.
Nithya Menen (Tamil film ‘Thiruchitrambalam’) and Manasi Parekh (Gujarati movie ‘Kutch Express’) shared the best actress honour.
Music composer A R Rahman won the National Film Award for best background music for his work in Mani Ratnam's ‘Ponnyin Selvan, which was also named the best Tamil film. This is the seventh national award for both Rahman and Ratnam.
Rahman said he is happy that his seventh national award has come for a film with Ratnam who gave Rahman a break with ‘Roja’. Rahman also received his first national award in the best music direction category for the 1992 film.
"This is the seventh national award and I'm very, very grateful to God and all the filmmakers who have helped me get these national awards, especially to Mr Mani Ratnam," he added.
Manoj Bajpayee received a special mention for Gulmohar', which also won Rahul V Chittella the award for best Hindi film.
Pritam Chakrabarty got the award for best music director (songs) for ‘Brahmastra-Part 1’. Neena Gupta won her second Best Supporting Actress award for the same film. Pawan Malhotra was named the best supporting actor for the Haryanvi film ‘Fouja’.
Speaking at the function, President Murmu said, “Indian films reflect the artistic sense of our society. Life is changing. The Standards of art are changing. New aspirations are arising. New problems are emerging. New awareness is rising. Amidst all these changes, the unchanging values of love, compassion, and service are still making our individual and collective lives meaningful. We can see all these values portrayed in the film awarded today.”
The President said that Indian cinema is the largest film industry in the world, with films being produced in multiple languages and in all regions of the country.
She said though the languages and backgrounds of award-winning films may be different but they all are reflections of India.
Murmu noted that out of more than 85 awards distributed on Tuesday, only 15 have been received by women and said the film industry could make more efforts towards women-led development.
The President pointed out that meaningful films often do not find an audience and urged aware citizens, social organisations, and governments to work together to increase the reach of meaningful cinema to the audience.
Source: online
BDST: 1216 HRS, OCT 09, 2024
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