Rajinikanth joins elite club, to be conferred with Dadasaheb Phalke Award

Minister of Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar took to Twitter on Thursday to confirm that the prestigious award will be conferred upon Rajinikanth. He will be the 51st recipient of the prestigious award.

"Happy to announce #Dadasaheb Phalke award for 2019 to one of the greatest actors in the history of Indian cinema Rajnikant Ji His contribution as actor, producer and screenwriter has been iconic I thank Jury @ashabhosle @SubhashGhai1 @Mohanlal @Shankar_Live #BiswajeetChatterjee," said Information and Broadcasting minister.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also took the Twitter and congratulated the superstar. "Popular across generations, a body of work few can boast of, diverse roles and an endearing personality...that's Shri @rajinikanth Ji for you. It is a matter of immense joy that Thalaiva has been conferred with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award. Congratulations to him," said PM in his tweet.

Dadasaheb Phalke Awards are managed by the Directorate of Film Festivals, an organization set up by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The award is considered one the most prestigious in the field of cinema.

Rajinikanth last appeared in the 2020 Tamil action-thriller film Darbar.

The actor has been part of the showbiz business for over four decades and enjoys immense popularity among the masses.

Rajinikanth had made debut in 1975 movie Apoorva Raagangal. Post. He was primarily seen essaying 'negative' roles in films. Many films followed, but it was the 1995 release Baashha, wherein Rajini played a crime leader, that catapulted him into the superstardom. A little more than a decade later, the artist set a new benchmark in Indian cinema with his 2007 movie Sivaji, which was the third Indian movie to join the Rs 100 crore club at the time.