Indian film actor, Shashi Kapoor was bestowed the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest honour in Indian cinema on May 10th, 2015. The actor is the 46th winner of the Award that was first introduced in the year 1969. The award was initiated by the Government of India to commemorate the contribution to Indian cinema made by eminent Indian film-maker Dadasaheb Phalke (1870-1944), also regarded as ‘the Father of Indian Cinema’. The event is held annually at the National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals.
Is it a mere co-incidence that the Mr. Shashi Kapoor, who uttered one of the most iconic Hindi film dialogue ‘Mere paas maa hai’, was honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award on Mother’s Day?
The award ceremony that is normally held in the capital New Delhi had to be observed in Mumbai understanding that the actor was not in the peak of his health and was wheel chair bound. India’s Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley presented the honor to Mr. Shashi Kapoor at the legendary Prithvi Theatre in Mumbai.
Actor Shashi Kapoor presented the Dadasaheb Phalke Award
The ceremony was attended by his family and friends, including veteran actors Waheeda Rehman, Asha Parekh, Rekha, Zeenat Aman, Shabana Azmi, Nafisa Ali and Amitabh Bachchan. Among the family members present included Rishi Kapoor, Neetu Singh, Karishma Kapoor, Ranbir Singh, Krishna Raj Kapoor, Neela Devi and Saif Ali Khan among others.
The actor’s son Kunal and daughter Sanjana accompanied him as he arrived on stage. Mr. Shashi Kapoor is the third member the Kapoor family to have received this big honor. His father Mr. Prithviraj Kapoor and elder brother Raj Kapoor were the other recipients of the award from the family.
Mr. Shashi Kapoor was born in 1938 into one of Indian cinema’s biggest dynasty, the Kapoor family. His father was the pioneer of Indian theater, Mr. Prithviraj Kapoor. Raj Kapoor and Shammi Kapoor, one of the biggest names in the film industry were his brothers.
Actor Shashi Kapoor 2015 Dadasaheb Phalke Award
He began his acting career at the tender age of four, taking part in plays directed and produced by his father. He entered the film industry in the late 1940s as a child artist. Some of his best performances at the time were in “Aag” (1948) and “Awaara” (1951).
His debut as the lead hero in a movie was in the film ‘Dharmputra’, 1961. He became one of the most popular and finest actors ruling the 1960s, 1970s and the mid-1980s. It is worth mentioning that Mr. Kapoor was one of the first Indian actors to gain International fame, having starred in British and American films like ‘The Householder’ (1963), ‘Shakespeare Wallah’ (1965) and Bombay Talkie’ (1970).
He set up his own production house Film Valas in 1978 that went on to create films like Junoon (1978) and ‘36 Chowringhee Lane’.
Mr. Shashi Kapoor has won three National Film Awards and was also honored with the Padma Bhushan in 2011.
Actor Shashi Kapoor receives Dadasaheb Phalke Award 2015
Actor Shashi Kapoor receives Dadasaheb Phalke Award 2015 pictures