Amitabh Bachchan named Dadasaheb Phalke winner, congratulations pour in

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan, one of the most influential stars of his generation, was on Tuesday named the Dadasaheb Phalke award recipient for the year 2018 for his contribution to the Indian film industry.

The award comes in a year when 76-year-old Bachchan completes 50 years as an actor.

The award is named after the father of Indian cinema, Dhundiraj Govind Phalke, and is considered the highest honour for an artiste in Indian cinema.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar confirmed the news in a Twitter post.

"The legend Amitabh Bachchan who entertained and inspired for 2 generations has been selected unanimously for #DadaSahabPhalke award. The entire country and international community is happy. My heartiest Congratulations to him. @narendramodi @SrBachchan," Javadekar tweeted, tagging both the Prime Minister and the actor.

In a career spanning five decades, Bachchan has stayed at the top, surprising fans with memorable performances film after film.

Such is his popularity that Bachchan continues to be on the wishlist of the young generation of directors, many of whom grew up on a staple diet of his films of the '70s and '80s.

Bachchan was born to renowned Hindi poet Harisvanshrai Bachchan and Teji Bachchan in 1942.

He started his cinema journey as a voice-over artiste for Mrinal Sen's film "Bhuvan Shome" and made his debut as an actor with "Saat Hindustani" though the film was not a box office success.

It took Bachchan a dozen flops to finally break into the film industry as a lead hero with Prakash Mehra's action film "Zanjeer".

Bachchan became the voice of a generation with the 'Angry Young Man' persona, created by scriptwriters Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, perfectly embodying the frustrations and disappoinments of his generation in films such as "Deewar" and "Sholay".

"Namak Haram", "Natwarlal", "Lawaaris", "Parvarish", "Muqaddar Ka Sikandar", "Trishul" and "Kaala Patthar" were the other major hits of the era.

Though popular, the persona of the star could not pigeonhole Bachchan, who continued to explore his sensitive side in middle-of-the-road films like "Abhimaan", "Millie", "Kabhie Kabhie" and "Silsila"
Bachchan's "Pink" and "Badla" co-star Taapsee Pannu told PTI that the actor "truly deserves all honours possible concerning indian cinema."
Filmmaker R Balki, who has collaborated with Bachchan on many films, told PTI: "Amitabh Bachchan will be the first person to win a best actor award after winning the Dada Saheb Phalke award."