Hyderabad: Baahubali director S.S. Rajamouli was on Friday chosen for the Akkineni Nageswara Rao national award for 2017. The award will be presented by Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu at a function will be held in Hyderabad on September 17 in the presence of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao.
The award was announced by Akkineni Nagarjuna, the younger son of late ANR. Award committee chairman Dr T. Subbarami Reddy, Congress MP, was present.
Dr Subbarami Reddy recalled his days with the late ANR. “The thought of instituting the award came to the thespian when he received the Dadasaheb Phalke award. He started the award in 2005 for a person who dedicated their life to the development of Indian cinema,”said Dr Subbarami Reddy.
He recalled that the ANR award was given to popular Hindi actor and filmmaker Dev Anand. “I am very happy to see that ANR’s sons have carried forward the tradition,” he said.
Actor Nagarjuna says that director Rajamouli’s Baahubali was a path-breaking film and made Telugu cinema proud not just in one region but all over the world. “We are proud and honoured to nominate Rajamouli for the ANR national award,” the actor said.
The award presentation was initially scheduled on September 20, late ANR’s birth anniversary, but was advanced as the Vice-President would be in the city on September 17. The committee had not announced any winners for the last two years.
