Kannada star Darshan Thogudeepa is the first south Indian star to be honoured by the Parliament in the United Kingdom for his contribution to arts and culture through his films. He is the first star from the south Indian film industry and the fourth actor from India to be bestowed with the honour on October 19.

Darshan is currently busy with his upcoming film Kurukshetra, which is progressing at a rapid pace in Hyderabad where extravagant sets have been erected for the shooting. He flew down to the UK to receive the award and will return back to India on October 26. Soon after his return, Darshan will join the sets of Kurukshetra and resume the shooting. It may be mentioned here that Kurukshetra is Darshan’s 50th film and is produced by Muni Ratna on a huge budget. The film is slated to hit the silver screens for Sankaranthi early next year.

First reported by Deccan Herald, in a letter British MP Veerendra Sharma said, “It's a great honour and privilege to host you at the House of Commons, on October 19. We've decided to felicitate you, for the hard efforts you've put in through your movies to promote Karnataka's art and culture.”

According to reports, Manjunath Vishwakarma briefed the British MP about Darshan and his contribution to the Kannada arts and culture through his works in films and impressed by it, he initiated the process for bestowing the honour on the star.

Bollywood star Salman Khan received the Global Diversity Award at Britain’s House of Commons last year on September 16.

Darshan’s fans, while waiting eagerly for Kurukshetra, are happy over their idol receiving the prestigious award.