Veteran filmmaker and actor K Vishwanath has been honoured with the Dada Saheb Phalke Award for his contribution towards Indian cinema.
The announcement that came in from the Indian government has movie buffs happy.
An exceptional director, K Vishwanath is known for his fine blend of parallel cinema with mainstream commercial cinema.
The award, comprising of a cash prize of Rs. 10 lakh and a Swarn Kamal (Golden Lotus), along with a shawl, will be handed over to the recipient on May 3 by President Pranab Mukherjee at the Vigyan Bhawan.
Vishwanath is the winner of six National Film Awards (one for Best Screenplay, two for Best Direction, a Lifetime Achievement Award, one for Best Character Actor and one for Best Supporting Actor), six state Nandi Awards, ten Filmfare Awards, and a Bollywood Filmfare Award.
He has directed over fifty films in his career and has acted in a number of films as well. Some of the director’s classical hits are Sankarabharanam in 1979, Swati Mutyam in 1986 and Sagara Sangamam in 1983.
Sankarabharanam and Sagara Sangamam have been listed in the hundred greatest Indian films of all time by the CNN-IBN. Swati Mutyam was India’s official entry to the 59th Academy Awards.
Vishwanath was honoured with the Padma Shri in 1992. He was also bestowed with international awards like the Prize of the Public at the Besancon Film Festival of France in 1981 for Sankarabharanam and the GAMA Life Time Achievement Award in 2014.
Vishwanath is an accomplished actor as well having starred in films like Subha Sankalpam, Swabhishekam, Yaaradi Ne Mohini, and Rajapattai.
Accolades and congratulatory messages have been pouring in for the veteran filmmaker from various sections of the society including politicians and celebrities, who have tweeted their congratulatory messages.
This content was provided by Digital Native.