Minister for I & B Arun Jaitley presents the Dasaheb Phalke award to Shashi Kapoor.
Calls him a versatile personality from Indian cinema and an actor par excellence.
Union Information & Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley today presented the Dadasaheb Phalke award for 2014 for outstanding achievements , to the veteran film actor- producer Shashi Kapoor at an informal function at the Prithvi Theatre in Mumbai. This highest award of the film industry is conferred on him by the Government of India for outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian Cinema. The award consisting of a Swarn Kamal (Golden Lotus), a cash prize of Rs. 10 lakhs, a citation and a shawl was given to the actor who came in on a wheel chair. This was necessitated since the ailing actor was unable to travel to New Delhi on the day of the function to receive from the hands of President of India shri Pranab Mukherji .
Naming him as the most versatile personality Indian cinema has produced who worked in commercial and alternate cinema, Jaitley in his brief speech said he was an actor par excellence who competed with the very best during his times. The Minister also credited him with bringing the Hindi cinema and Hollywood together. He is the third personality from the Kapoor family to get the Phalke award after veteran director Prithviraj Kapoor and Raj Kapoor. He is the 46th Dada Saheb Phalke Award Winner.
At a star studded event Amitabh Bachan, Shyam Benegal, Govind Nihalani, Asha Parekh, actress & MP Hema Malini, Rekha , Asha Bhosale, Javed Akhtar, Shabana Azmi , Zeeenat Aman, Saif Ali Khan were present. Family members Krishna Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Ranbir Kapoor, Shashi’s children Kunal Kapoor and Sanjana kapoor were present. His nephew Ranbir started the show with a poem and younger brother Rishi Kapoor compered the program. A poignant audio visual on Shashi Kapoor’s films and his work along with interviews of important film personalities was played at the occasion to a rousing applause from the elite film audience. In his vote of thanks actor Amitabh Bachchan said Shashi Kapoor is a caring and generous human being and it is very befitting that the function is held at Prithvi Theatre which Shashi Kapoor himself had established.
Just to remind the readers that Shashi Kapoor made his debut as a leading man in the 1961 film (“Char Diwari”) opposite Nanda . Yash Chopra directed film ‘Dharmputra’ released next in the same year. In 1965 he starred in a commercial hit ‘Jab Jab Phool Khile’ ( again opposite Nanda) which was a commercial hit .Thereafter he went on to appear in more than 150 Hindi films, (many block busters with Amitabh Bachchan also).. He was a very popular actor in Bollywood during the 60s, 70s and until mid 80s. Shashi Kapoor is one of India’s first actors to go International and starred in many British and American films, including those of Merchant Ivory Productions such as “The Householder” (1963), “Shakespeare Wallah” (1965), “Bombay Talkie” (1970) and “Heat and Dust” (1982). He also starred in other British and American films such as “Siddhartha” (1972) and “In Custody” –(Muhafiz -1994). In 1978, Shashi Kapoor set up his own production house Filmwallas which produced critically acclaimed films “ Junoon” (1978), Kalyug (1981), 36 Chowringhee Lane (1981), Vijeta (1982) and Utsav (1984).
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