Superstar Rajinikanth dedicated the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke Award announced by the Centre to be conferred on him to those who made him what he is now, including a bus driver friend and his mentor who launched him in cinema, the late K Balachander. Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar had announced on Thursday that Rajinikanth will be bestowed with the Dada Saheb Phalke award for the year 2019, making him the third from Tamil cinema after the late thespian Sivaji Ganesan and late director Balachander, his mentor, to have been chosen for the award.
Congratulatory messages poured in from various quarters to the veteran. Those who greeted him were his long time friend and contemporary Kamal Haasan, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami, his deputy O Panneerselvam, DMK President M K Stalin and various other political leaders.
