President honours Amitabh Bachchan with Dadasaheb Phalke Award
New Delhi, Dec 29: President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday presented megastar Amitabh Bachchan with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, Indian cinema's highest honour, in a special ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here.
Bachchan was earlier supposed to receive the honour at the National Film Awards ceremony last Monday, but the actor was unable to attend the event due to ill health.
Information & Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar had announced at the awards that the Hindi cinema veteran will be bestowed with the honour in a special ceremony hosted by the President on Sunday.
The award, named after Dhundiraj Govind Phalke who is revered as the Father of Indian cinema, was instituted in 1969, the year Bachchan made his debut in Hindi film industry with "Saat Hindustani".
The Dadasaheb Phalke Award comprises a Swarna Kamal (Golden Lotus) medallion, a shawl, and a cash prize of Rs 10,00,000.
"I would like to thank the government of India, Information & Broadcasting ministry and the jury members of the National Film Awards for finding me deserving enough for Dadasaheb Phalke Award.
"God has been kind, there have been blessings of my parents, the support of the filmmakers, producers, co-actors from the industry, but I'm most indebted to the love and constant encouragement by the Indian audience. That's the reason I'm standing here. I accept this award with utmost humility and gratitude," Bachchan said in his acceptance speech.
The 77-year-old actor attended the ceremony with his wife, veteran actor-MP Jaya Bachchan and son, actor Abhishek Bachchan. Also present were the winners of the National Film Awards.
President Kovind is hosting a high-tea for all the winners at this residence on Sunday.
In a career spanning five decades, Bachchan has stayed at the top, surprising fans with memorable performances film after film.
Born to renowned Hindi poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan and Teji Bachchan in 1942, Bachchan started his cinema journey as a voice-over artiste for Mrinal Sen's Bengali film "Bhuvan Shome" and made his debut as an actor with "Saat Hindustani", which was not a box office success.
After a series of flops, the actor finally tasted success in 1973 as a lead hero with Prakash Mehra's action film "Zanjeer".
The movie established him as the 'Angry Young Man', a persona created by scriptwriters Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, that embodied the frustrations and disappointments of that generation.
He channelled the avatar in films such as "Deewar", "Sholay", "Mr Natwarlal", "Lawaaris", "Muqaddar Ka Sikandar", "Trishul", "Shakti" and "Kaala Patthar".
Bachchan tapped into his sensitive side in middle-of-the-road films like "Abhimaan", "Millie", "Kabhie Kabhie" and "Silsila".
He also tried his hand at comedy and went on to deliver hits like "Namak Halal", "Satte Pe Satta", "Chupke Chupke" and "Amar Akbar Anthony" among others.
After a dip in his career during '80s, came the iconic role of gangster Vijay Deenanath Chauhan in Mukul S Anand's "Agneepath" (1990), which earned him his first National Film Award.
The actor switched to character roles in 2000s with Yash Chopra's "Mohabbatein" (2001), where he featured alongside Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai as a stern father.
He followed it up with his television debut as the host of the game show "Kaun Banega Crorepati", which enjoys massive popularity and is a programme that the actor continues to host even now.
With age, Bachchan changed gears and started taking up films such as "Aankhen", "Baghban", "Khakee", "Viruddh", "Sarkar" series and "Pink".
"Black", "Paa" and "Piku" earned the veteran star three more Best Actor National Film Awards and they remain a highlight in his storied filmography.
In 2019, he received rave reviews for his performance in "Badla".
The government honoured Bachchan with the Padma Shri in 1984, the Padma Bhushan in 2001 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2015 for his contributions to the arts.
He has also stayed relevant through his campaigns for polio, tuberculosis, the girl child and other programmes.
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No govt in past 'insulted' Ambedkar the way Amit Shah did: Priyanka Gandhi
Belagavi (Karnataka), Jan 21 (PTI): Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday said no government in the past had insulted the Constitution and its architect B R Ambedkar inside Parliament the way Union Home Minister Amit Shah had.
She alleged that the BJP wanted to "weaken" the Constitution and its institutions.
"Many governments have come and gone, including non-Congress governments, but no government had a minister who stood in Parliament and insulted Ambedkar," Priyanka Gandhi said at the 'Gandhi Bharat' event organised in Belagavi.
The Congress organised the event to commemorate the centenary of the lone Congress session Mahatma Gandhi had chaired as the party’s president in 1924.
Themed as 'Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhan', the event targetted Union Home Minister Amit Shah for "insulting" the Indian Constitution and its architect B R Ambedkar in the Rajya Sabha recently.
Vadra said people never imagined that Ambedkar would be "insulted" inside Parliament. By doing so, Shah had "insulted" the country and the freedom fighters who sacrificed everything for it, she alleged.
According to her, Shah dared to "insult" Ambedkar and the Constitution because, while the country fought for independence, another ideological stream emerged that was "anti-constitution".
Vadra also alleged that RSS members had burned Ambedkar’s effigy and criticised him.
She said the BJP, being the offspring of the RSS, felt emboldened to "insult" Ambedkar and his Constitution.
"However, in 2024, the people taught the BJP a lesson, which was good because it scared Prime Minister Narendra Modi. After that, when he went to Parliament, he bowed before the Constitution. You made him do this," she said.
Noting that the BJP's priorities are not the country, the Constitution, democracy, or its people, she said Modi and Shah are "anti-Constitution" because their ideologies go against it and the diversity of the country.
"They are against the Constitution because their founder and ideology mocked the Constitution and the national flag, calling them foreign and inauspicious," Vadra said.
She also alleged that when the BJP came to power at the Centre, it constituted a Constitution Review Committee.
"The BJP is against the Constitution, reservation, and social justice. They want to weaken the judiciary and the RTI Act. They amended the SEBI Act to enable more corruption. They weakened the Lokpal Bill and the Election Commission of India," Vadra alleged.
She further stated that in BJP-ruled states, atrocities against women are high, as the party protects criminals rather than victims.
The Wayanad MP also said the BJP amended labour laws, stripping the working class of their rights.
She added that the BJP brought laws that would have broken the farmers' backbone.
"The farmers demonstrated, and 700 farmers died during the agitation. Then they (the BJP) backtracked just before the elections. All their policies are anti-constitution and will impact your day-to-day life," she told the crowd.
