Veteran Sheela to be honoured

Malayalam legendary actress Sheela will be presented this year's Cultural Award, instituted in 1996 by the Malayalam Wing of the Indian Social Club Muscat, on Thursday, the second day of the wing's three-day-long Onam celebrations.

The Cultural Award is conferred upon eminent personalities of Kerala who have made outstanding contributions in films, literature and arts. Sheela, who has acted in a record 687 movies, mostly as the lead actress, was chosen by the wing members for the honour in recognition of her contributions to the film industry. The award consists of a memento and a cheque of Rs. 50,000.

Winners so far include movie producer and director Adoor Gopalakrishnan, director I.V. Sasi and actors Madhu, Nedumudi Venu, Murali, Jagathy Sreekumar, K.P.A.C. Lalitha, Seema, Sreenivasan, and Padmashri Sukumari and Jagadish.

Veteran Sheela is a winner of several national and Kerala state awards. She won the Indian President's Gold Medal for the Malayalam movie Chemmeen (1965). She holds, along with Prem Nazir, the Guinness book record for acting in the largest number of films (107) together. Her other accomplishments include winning the Lux Award five times, the South Indian Filmfare Award seven times, the Screen Videocon Lifetime Achievement Award, Sathyan Memorial Award and the Kerala State Award for best actress.