Waheeda Rehman receives Dadasaheb Phalke Award, dedicates it to film fraternity
New Delhi (PTI): Screen icon Waheeda Rehman on Tuesday became the eighth woman artiste to receive the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest recognition in the field of Indian cinema, an honour she dedicated to her "dear film industry" and its various departments.
President Droupadi Murmu presented the award to Rehman, 85, during the 69th National Film Awards ceremony, held at Vigyan Bhawan here.
The cinema veteran, who received a standing ovation from the A-list gathering as she walked to the stage, spoke about how filmmaking is a collaborative process.
"I feel very honoured and humbled... But whatever I have achieved today, it is because of my dear film industry. Luckily, I got to work with top directors, producers, filmmakers, technicians, writers, dialogue writers, music directors and musicians," Rehman said in her acceptance speech.
"I got a lot of support, respect and love from them," she said, also crediting the make-up artists, hair and costume designers.
"...Which is why I am sharing this award with all the departments of the film industry. They gave me a lot of respect, support and love from the very beginning. A film is not made by just one person, we need each other," she added.
The five-member jury -- comprising Rehman's close friend and last year's Dadasaheb awardee Asha Parekh, actors Chiranjeevi, Paresh Rawal, Prosenjit Chatterjee and filmmaker Shekhar Kapur -- selected Rehman for the prestigious honour.
Rehman made her debut in Hindi films opposite Dev Anand in Guru Dutt's 1956 film "CID" and went on to build a stellar career of over five decades, including classics "Pyaasa", "Kaagaz ke Phool" and "Chaudhvin Ka Chand", "Guide" as well as later hits such as "Kabhi Kabhie" and "Khamoshi".
The announcement of the Dadasaheb Phalke honour coincided with the birth centenary of her "Guide" and "CID" co-star Dev Anand on September 26, 2023.
Rehman, who forayed in cinema with the 1955 Telugu films "Rojulu Maraayi" and "Jayasimha", has worked in more than 90 films across languages.
In the 2000s, she appeared in "Om Jai Jagdish", "Rang De Basanti", "Delhi-6" and "The Song of Scorpions". Her last film was the 2021 sports drama "Skater Girl".
She received a National Film Award for her role as a clanswoman in "Reshma aur Shera". She has already been honoured with a Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan.
Film actor-producer Devika Rani was the first Dadasaheb Phalke awardee. Other female artists to have received the honour are Sulochana, Kanan Devi, Durga Khote,
Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle and Asha Parekh.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
EC transferred over 50 officials, it's political interference of highest order: Mamata
Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday expressed alarm over the "arbitrary removal of more than 50 senior officials" in the poll-bound state, terming it a "political interference of the highest order".
Continuing with her tirade against the Election Commission, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo claimed that such action amounted to "systematic politicisation of institutions" and a "direct assault on the Constitution".
After announcing the schedule for the assembly polls, the Election Commission has ordered several reshuffles of senior officers, including the transfer of Chief Secretary Nandini Chakravorty, Home Secretary Jagdish Prasad Meena, and the removal of DGP Peeyush Pandey and Kolkata Police Commissioner Supratim Sarkar.
On Wednesday, the poll body ordered a fresh reshuffle of senior officers, posting two secretaries to other poll-bound states as observers, and deploying 13 IAS and five IPS officers in key poll management roles.
Slamming the poll body, Banerjee took to X to claim that more than 50 senior officials had been "summarily and arbitrarily removed" even before the formal notification of elections.
"The manner in which the Election Commission has singled out and targeted Bengal is not just unprecedented -- it is deeply alarming.
"Even before the formal notification of elections, more than 50 senior officials... have been summarily and arbitrarily removed. This is not administrative action; this is political interference of the highest order," she said.
Banerjee alleged that senior officers from agencies such as IB, STF and CID were being "selectively removed" from the state.
She further alleged "contradictions" in the poll panel's actions, claiming that officers removed from their posts were being assigned as election observers.
"This is not governance. It reflects chaos, confusion, and sheer incompetence being passed off as authority," she said.
Describing the situation as "nothing short of an undeclared emergency", Banerjee alleged that there was a "deliberate design to seize control of West Bengal through coercion and institutional manipulation".
"I stand in complete solidarity with every officer of the Government of West Bengal and their families… Bengal has never bowed to intimidation, and it never will," she added.
Along with the post, the chief minister also attached images of the Election Commission's notifications, ordering the removal and transfer of top state officials to substantiate her claims.
The TMC supremo described the special intensive revision of electoral rolls as "deeply flawed" and went on to say that at a time when the process is underway and "over 200 lives have already been lost, the conduct of the commission reflects a clear bias and an uncomfortable submission to political interests".
Banerjee also claimed that supplementary electoral rolls were yet to be published "in clear disregard of the Supreme Court's directions..
Questioning the intent of the ruling BJP at the Centre, she said, "Why is the BJP so desperate? Why this relentless targeting of Bengal and its people? What satisfaction do they derive from forcing citizens, even after 78 years of Independence, to stand in queues and prove their own citizenship?"
