Veteran actor Waheeda Rehman, who has widely been regarded as one of Hindi cinema's finest actresses, will be honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2021. The 85 year-old actor is already a recipient of the Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan awards. The announcement was made by the Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur via his social media account. In a long note, the minister announced that the veteran actor will be receiving the award and lauded her for exemplifying dedication, commitment and the strength of a 'Bharatiya Nari'. Notably, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India's highest film honour.

Waheeda Rehman to be conferred with Dadasaheb Phalke Award

In a post on X (previously Twitter), Anurag Thakur wrote about feeling an immense sense of happiness and honour to announce the decision of conferring Waheeda Rehman as the recipient for this year's prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Lifetime Achievement Award. The minister lauded her for a stellar contribution to Indian Cinema and also mentioned her iconic films including Pyaasa, Kaagaz ke Phool, Chaudhavi Ka Chand, Saheb Biwi Aur Ghulam, Guide and Khamoshi.

Anurag Thakur further noted that in a career spanning over 5 decades, the veteran Bollywood star essayed her roles with extreme finesse. Highlighting her National Film Award win for the film Reshma Aur Shera, the minister wrote that Waheeda Rehman "exemplified dedication, commitment and the strength of a Bharatiya Nari who can achieve the highest level of professional excellence with her hard work."

The minister also noted that Waheeda Rehman's win comes at a time when the Parliament passed the historic Women's Reservation Bill. Calling it a fitting tribute to one of the leading ladies of Indian Cinema, Anurag Thakur congratulated Waheeda Rehman for a body of work that will forever be remembered in the history of Indian cinema.

Past winners of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award

Before Waheeda Rehman, actors Soumitra Chatterjee, Amitabh Bachchan, Dilip Kumar, Rajkumar, Sivaji Ganesan, Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Shashi Kapoor, Asha Parekh and Rajinikanth have also been honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award. Filmmakers Satyajit Ray, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Mrinal Sen, Shyam Benegal and Tapan Sinha have also been conferred with the awards. Past winners also include Manna Dey, Bhupen Hazarika, Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhonsle.