Ali Zafar to receive Indian award

The singer-cum-actor will receiv­e the Phalke Academ­y Award.

KARACHI: Singer-cum-actor Ali Zafar seems to have garnered a lot of love, name, fame and respect in Bollywood. So much so that after having received his first Stardust Award last year, the music industry’s wonder boy will be bringing home another award at the 143^rd Dadasaheb Phalke Academy Award Ceremony. The event takes place on May 3 in Mumbai.

An excited Zafar, who had just landed in Mumbai for the event, said, “To have been granted this prestigious award, alongside the likes of the biggest Indian film industry legends, is a huge honour for me. One can only dream of such things and when dreams become realities, life becomes fascinating. This award is also a vivid manifestation of the belief that an artist and his art know no boundaries. Neither does love.”

The event is held annually and is named after the pioneer of the Indian film industry Dadasaheb Phalke, who made the first Indian motion picture Raja Harishchandra in the year 1913. The event is attended by some of the senior-most industry members which include producers, distributors, exhibitors and actors. It is one of the most prestigious events for Indian cinema and every Bollywood actor dreams of being honoured with a Phalke award.

Besides Zafar, Vidya Balan, Vinod Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan, Ekta Kapoor and Parineeta Chopra will also be awarded at the event. It is pertinent to mention that this award is not the same as the Government of India’s ‘Dadasaheb Phalke Award’.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 3^rd, 2012.