On Thursday, Union minister Prakash Javadekar announced that actor Rajinikanth will be conferred with the 51st Dadasaheb Phalke award, the highest honour for actors in the country.
Rajinikanth shared a heart-warming statement, expressing his gratitude to well-wishers and the filmmakers he has worked with. Firstly, the superstar conveyed his thanks to his closest friend Raj Bahadur, who worked as a bus driver when the former was a conductor. “For discovering my acting skill and for encouraging me, my friend Raj Bahadur,” he wrote.
He thanked his brother Sathyanarayana Rao Gaekwad for ‘making all sacrifices’ to make him an actor ‘even when wrought by poverty’.
— Rajinikanth (@rajinikanth) April 1, 2021
He then went on to thank director K. Balachander, his guru, for introducing him to cinema. Rajinikanth made his acting debut in 1975, in Balachander’s Apoorva Ragangal.
He also thanked the directors, technicians, and all his fans who made this possible and dedicated the award to them.
He also thanked political leaders and his friend and colleague Kamal Haasan.
