Bollywood’s evergreen star, Dev Anand , has been honoured with a lifetime achievement award for his contributions to the Indian cinema.
Justice V S Malimath, former chief justice of Karnataka and Kerala High Courts, conferred the film icon with ‘Anmol Ratan, Lifetime Achievement Award’ at a function organised in Bangalore on Saturday night by the Vintage Film-Music Lovers’ Association.
“It is marvellous, it is prestigious. Thank you for your love and generosity which has made me fly all the way from Mumbai to be with you,” the actor-director-producer, famous for his unique acting style, said after receiving the award.
“My heart goes out to you. I am totally overwhelmed. May be, I’ll come back here to make a film,” said the heartthrob of the 50s and 60s, wiping away tears from his eyes.
Going down the memory lane, the 85-year-old movie veteran nostalgically recalled his trip to Mysore to ‘convince’ writer R K Narayan on making a film version of his novel ‘Guide’.
That trip is till “green in my memory”, he said.
He exhorted Bangaloreans to keep their ambitions alive and march forward in the global arena.
“Bangalore is referred to as the Silicon City of India, a leap forward in technology. Keep the ambition alive, keep ahead of every other state… Keep going forward,” he said.
“I adore Bangalore as much as I admire Bangaloreans. Even in the world, they are much admired. When people in California called it silicon city of India, I felt proud of my country,” said the Dada Saheb Phalke awardee in his singsong voice.
Earlier, chartbuster song of the 60s, ‘Gaata Rahe Mera Dil’ from his magnum opus ‘Guide’ sung by amateur singers welcomed Dev Anand when made his entry.