Rajinikanth receives Dada Saheb Phalke award, dedicates honour to guru K Balachander, fans
New Delhi, Oct 25: Superstar Rajinikanth on Monday received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award at the National Film Awards ceremony here and dedicated it to his mentor, the late K Balachander, his technicians, fans and also to friend, driver and transport colleague Raj Bahadur who encouraged him to join cinema.
Rajinikanth, whose glittering career from bus conductor to arguably the biggest star pan-India is the stuff of film fable, was presented the award by Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu at the Vigyan Bhavan here.
Receiving the award, the government's highest honour for Indian cinema, for the year 2019, Rajinikanth, popularly called Thalaivar' (leader in Tamil), thanked a host of people, including the Tamil people and the media.
"I'm extremely happy to receive this award and my thanks to the government for this most prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke Award. I dedicate this award to my guru, my mentor K Balachander sir, I thank my brother Sathyanarayana Rao, he is a father figure in my life, for giving me great values...
"My friend, driver and transport colleague Raj Bahadur. He spotted the acting talent in me and encouraged me to join cinema. All my producers and directors who have produced my films, technicians, artists, distributors, media, press and all my fans, and Tamil people..." the 70-year-old said in his acceptance speech.
Lauding Rajinikanth, a matinee idol for the ages, the vice president said Rajinikanth was "one of the great sons of this great country".
In his address, the vice president said the veteran actor has given memorable performances in films including "Bhairavi" and "Sivaji".
"The iconic thespian's unmatchable acting skills have given a new dimension to the Indian film industry... He has shown how to maintain a perfect balance between artistic expression and mass appeal," Naidu added.
From his 1975 debut with Balachander in "Apoorva Raagangal", "Moondru Mudichu", "Billa", Hindi titles "Hum , "ChaalBaaz", Bhagwaan Dada to "Enthiran", "Kaala" and now the upcoming "Annatthe", Rajinikanth continues to entertain the audience with his swag, style and inimitable on-screen presence.
Last December, Rajinikanth had shelved plans to make a foray into electoral politics. The superstar had announced he will not enter politics in view of his frail health.
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If Bumrah is not fit then a score of around 200 also might not be enough: Gavaskar
Sydney, Jan 4: Batting great Sunil Gavaskar feels India will struggle to defend even 200 in case premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah is unable to bowl at full throttle on the third day of the fifth and final Test against Australia here on Sunday.
Bumrah had left the field for scans during the second day's post-lunch session after bowling just one over, having experienced some discomfort. However, he returned to the dressing room after undergoing precautionary scans for an unspecified niggle.
India pacer Prasidh Krishna said his skipper had suffered back spasm.
The medical team was monitoring him as India ended the day 145 runs in front with four second innings wickets left on a SCG track which is aiding the bowlers.
"Look, if India scores 40 more runs or they put 185 on the board then they have a great chance but it all depends on Jasprit Bumrah's fitness. If Jasprit Bumrah is fit then 145-150 might be enough. But if Bumrah is not fit then a score of around 200 also might not be enough," said Gavaskar on Star Sports on Saturday.
Gavaskar also said maintaining secrecy around Bumrah's status is not going to help the Australians, who have so far struggled to counter the threat posed by the Indian pace spearhead.
"One thing that I liked was when he came back after the scan, obviously it took a lot of time because the hospital is a bit far, but he looked in good shape and his body language was such that there was no indication of the Australian team and it is very important to maintain the secrecy.
"Because, tactically you do not want to announce whether Bumrah will be available for bowling or not, and even if he is not available and this news goes across the opposition dressing room because till now Australian batsmen haven't found out a way to counter him, they don’t know whether they should attack, defend, or whether they should play on front-foot.
"So to execute this plan it is important to maintain secrecy, so Bumrah and the Indian team management managed it quite well," Gavaskar said.
The pacer has already taken 32 wickets in the series, and had figures of 2/33 in 10 overs before leaving the field, having removed Marnus Labuschagne in the morning session and Usman Khawaja on the last ball of the first evening.
