Rajinikanth
has
been
conferred
with
the
51st
Dadasaheb
Phalke
Award
for
his
outstanding
contribution
to
Indian
Cinema.
The
legendary
actor
often
addressed
as
Thalaiva,
received
the
award
from
Vice
President
M
Venkaiah
Naidu
at
the
67th
National
Film
Awards
ceremony
in
Delhi.
The
Superstar
dedicated
his
award
to
his
'mentor
and
guru'
K
Balachander
(Director
of
his
debut
film
Apoorva
Raagangal).
The
highest
honour
named
after
the
father
of
Indian
Cinema,
Dhundiraj
Govind
Phalke,
is
presented
annually
at
the
National
Film
Awards.
The
recipient
is
selected
by
a
committee
consisting
of
eminent
personalities
from
the
Indian
film
industry.
The
award
consists
of
the
Golden
Lotus
medallion
and
a
cash
prize
of
Rs
10
lakh.
Incidentally,
it's
a
double
celebration
in
the
Rajinikanth
household
as
the
Superstar's
son-in-law
and
renowned
stalwart
Dhanush
has
won
the
National
Film
Award
in
the
Best
Actor
category.
He
is
sharing
the
honour
with
Bollywood
actor
Manoj
Bajpayee.
Rajinikanth's
cinematic
journey
video
consisted
of
special
messages
from
actors
Amitabh
Bachchan,
Mohanlal
and
music
maestro
AR
Rahaman.
In
his
inspiring
and
emotional
address,
the
actor
said,
"I
dedicate
this
award
to
my
mentor,
guru
K
Balachander
sir.
I
remember
him
with
great
gratitude
and
my
brother
Sathyanarayana
Rao
Gaekwad,
who
is
like
my
father,
brought
me
up
teaching
great
value
and
injecting
spirituality
in
me.
My
friend
from
Karnataka,
bus
transport
driver,
my
colleague
Raj
Bahadur.
When
I
was
a
bus
conductor,
he
was
the
one
who
identified
the
acting
talent
in
me
and
encouraged
me
to
join
cinema.
All
my
producers,
directors,
technicians,
who
worked
with
me
and
co-artists,
distributors,
executors,
media,
press
and
all
my
fans.
And
Tamil
people,
without
them
I
am
nobody.
I
thank
the
Tamil
people
who
gave
given
me
my
life.
Jai
Hind."
Rajinikanth,
who
had
also
been
honoured
with
the
Padma
Bhushan
and
Padma
Vibushan
in
the
past,
started
off
his
career
with
the
1975
film
Apoorva
Raagangal
directed
by
K
Balachander.
Well,
Thalaiva
has
completed
45
years
in
the
Kollywood
industry
and
is
currently
gearing
up
for
the
release
of
his
highly
anticipated
film
Annaatthe
helmed
by
Siva,
and
co-starring
Nayanthara
and
Keerthy
Suresh.
The
rural
drama
is
releasing
on
November
4
coinciding
with
the
Diwali
festival.