Soumitra Chatterji to receive Dada Saheb Phalke Award

Zeenews Bureau

New Delhi: Iconic Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterji will be honoured with Dadasaheb Phalke Award this year. Soon after the National Award, the government announced four front runners for the coveted honour. They were Pran, Manoj Kumar, Vyjayanthimala and Soumitra Chatterjee. After much discussion among the jury members, finally, it was decided that greatest honour should go to Soumitra this year. Soumitra Chaterjee, in a gesture of protest against the National Film Awards committee`s bias in awarding popular and mainstream cinema, turned down the 2001 special jury award for best actor. However, a living legend that he is, Soumitra has received the `Officier des Arts et Metiers`, the highest award for arts given by the French government, and a lifetime achievement award from Italy. The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is officially India`s highest award in film industry which is given for ‘lifetime achievement in Indian cinema’ by the Central government.