Shashi Kapoor receives India's highest film honour

Living Bollywood icon and brother of Raj Kapoor, Shashi Kapoor has been honoured with the Dada Saheb Phalke Award, one of the most prestigious film prizes by the Indian government.

The 77-year-old was honoured for his contribution to Indian cinema from the start of his career in the 1960s both in India and abroad.

Hailing from what is considered India's first film family, Kapoor is the son of the late Prithviraj Kapoor, an icon of Indian theater and cinema.

Shashi with his leading ladies. PHOTO: TWITTER/@chintskap

The awards ceremony was aired in India this morning (Sunday) on all the country’s leading news networks from the Prithvi Theatre in Mumbai, which was constructed in 1978 by Kapoor to preserve his father’s legacy.

Neetu, Ranbir, Rekha and Karisma take a selfie with Shashi. PHOTO: TWITTER/@Showbiz_IT

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Shashi is the third person in his family to achieve this award after his father and late brother, the legendary Raj Kapoor.

The awards ceremony was attended by many of Bollywood’s elite including actor Amitabh Bachchan and the current generation of the Kapoor clan, from which Ranbir gave the opening speech at the event.

Ranbir Kapoor talks to reporters outside the venue. PHOTO: TWITTER/@iFaridoon

Usually, the ceremony is held in New Delhi, but due to the actor’s deteriorating health, the event was organised in Mumbai.

India's Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley flew down to Mumbai to present the honour to the actor, in a wheelchair, who retired from acting by the 1990s.

Saif Ali Khan and his sister-in-law Karishma Kapoor arrive at the event. PHOTO: TWITTER/@iFaridoon

"He brought Hindi cinema and Hollywood closer," Jaitley said.

Abhishek Bachchan and Neetu Singh pose for cameras. PHOTO: TWITTER/@Vivekjkulkarni

A huge success in Bollywood, Kapoor later became the first mainstream Indian actor to work in Hollywood and international cinema.

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Legendary actor Shashi Kapoor at the event. PHOTO: TWITTER/@iFaridoon

His English-language film career began with Merchant-Ivory's debut production, 1963's The Householder. Kapoor's international profile was further raised with the banner's breakthrough 1983 title Heat and Dust, in which he co-starred with Greta Scacchi and Julie Christie.

Kapoor's 100-plus Hindi filmography includes some of India's biggest hits, such as 1965's Jab Jab Phool Khile and 1975's Deewar.

Kapoor’s feelings about doing international movies were inspired by his late wife, British actor Jennifer Kendall, who he married in 1958.

This article originally appeared on Hollywood Reporter.