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Veteran actor Shashi Kapoor will be conferred the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke award in Mumbai as his family has conveyed to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry that it will difficult for him to travel to Delhi for the National Awards presentation function due to health reasons.
Sources said that it is likely that I and B Minister Arun Jaitley or his deputy Rajyavardhan Rathore will travel to Mumbai to bestow the honour at a function there. The Kapoor family has many film stars and they are expected to be present when the award is given to Kapoor, it is learnt.
An announcement of the award and a audio-visual film related to Kapoor's achievements will be played at the National Film Awards presentation ceremony here on May 3, a
source said, adding the award will be conferred on the actor in Mumbai on a suitable date later.
Seventy seven-year-old Kapoor is reportedly wheelchair bound and is learnt to be ailing from kidney problems. He is the third from his family to get the award, after father Prithviraj Kapoor and elder brother Raj Kapoor.
Earlier, a similar decision was taken in 2013 when the then I and B Minister Manish Tewari went to Mumbai to present the Dadasaheb Phalke award to veteran actor Pran. Kapoor has starred in over 100 Hindi films and best known for his powerful portrayals in hits like Namak Halaal, Deewar and Kabhie Kabhie.
Dadasaheb Phalke award is the highest official recognition for film personalities in India. The award consists of a Swarn Kamal (golden lotus), a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh and a shawl.
The award is given on the basis of recommendations of a committee of eminent persons set up by the government. A five-member jury had earlier unanimously recommended the name of Kapoor, who has carved out an equally successful career in alternative international cinema and theatre, for the award. He will be the 46th recipient of the award.
In the picture Shashi Kapoor. Photograph: Pradeep Bandekar
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