Amitabh Bachchan, Shyam Benegal conferred Andhra state awards

Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh government Saturday announced Amitabh Bachchan, Shyam Benegal, Kaikala Satyanarayana and G. Adiseshagiri Rao have been selected for four prestigious state awards for 2012 for their contribution to Indian cinema.

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan was selected for the N.T. Rama Rao National Award for his contribution to cinema as an actor, while filmmaker Shyam Benegal was selected for the B.N Reddi award for his directorial excellence. Veteran Telugu actor Satyanarayana, known for playing villain roles and supporting characters, will get the Raghupathi Venkaiah award for his outstanding contribution to cinema. Telugu producer Adiseshagiri Rao, brother of Telugu superstar Krishna, was selected for B. Nagireddy Chakrapani award for his involvement in the constant development of Telugu cinema. The awards will be presented soon. IANS