The veteran actor has been announced as the recipient of the 2024 Dadasaheb Phalke Award , India’s highest honour in cinema. Veteran Kannada actor Anant Nag has credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for democratising the film awards process in India, saying he removed nepotism and favouritism from the process.
Anant Nag credits PM Modi for cleaning film awards
The 79-year-old actor said he had not anticipated receiving the Dadasaheb Phalke Award and was still coming to terms with the honour. Anant Nag, who has completed 50 years as an actor, has not confirmed whether he will attend the award ceremony in Delhi, as he is reluctant to travel. He will be conferred the award at the National Film Awards ceremony in Kevadia, Gujarat, on September 22.
Because he tweeted it and announced this particular award, i would dedicate it to the people of Karnataka, and then thank Mr Modi, our dear Prime Minister, for this,. But Modi changed it. Modi was the only person who asked people to please recommend the name they had in their mind. That was the first time he brought it out into the public. He dedicated the win to the people of his home state, Karnataka. “Well, I didn’t anticipate that I would be given this Phalke Award, as such. So, I’m trying to come to terms with it. So I’m grateful to him, and grateful to this country which has provided me this opportunity,” he added. “If I’m asked to, then I cannot say no.
When they’ve conferred such a big award on me, then I should go to it and take it,” he said. On Wednesday, hours after his name was announced as the recipient of the honour, the actor told PTI, “It was a very special category, you know; it was given nepotism and favouritism, and everything was there in this award-giving, as well.
Anant Nag’s career in films and theatre
Most of his films have been in Kannada, but he has also appeared in several notable Hindi films. Anant Nag acted in Konkani, Hindi and Marathi plays for about five years, starting in the 1960s. During this time, he came under the influence of theatre personalities such as Satyadev Dubey, Girish Karnad, and Amol Palekar. He was also part of the popular Doordarshan serial Malgudi Days, the television adaptation of R. K. Narayan’s works, directed by his filmmaker brother, Shankar Nag. The selection followed a recommendation from the Dadasaheb Phalke Award Selection Committee.
A veteran of screen and stage, Anant Nag is a playwright, director, and actor who has worked in more than 250 films throughout his career. The 78-year-old is also a renowned theatre personality. He made his cinema debut with the 1973 Kannada film Sankalpa and gradually became an integral part of the parallel cinema movement in the 1970s and 1980s with roles in films such as Ankur, Nishant, Manthan, Bhumika, Kalyug, and Gehrayee. Earlier reporting noted: Anant Nag’s five-decade career earns him Dadasaheb Phalke Award From Kannada cinema to Hindi films and the television world of Malgudi Days, veteran actor Anant Nag has been named the recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2024, the Government of India announced on Wednesday. Earlier reporting noted: The 78-year-old actor will receive the honour at the 72nd National Film Awards ceremony in Kevadia, Gujarat, on September 22.
Earlier reporting noted: The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is regarded as India’s highest honour in cinema and recognises an individual’s contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema.
