Amitabh Bachchan has an exceptional career in the world of cinema and his immense contribution to cinema was rightly acknowledged when he was unanimously selected for the Dadasaheb Phalke Award which is Indian cinema’s highest honour.

The information was conveyed by Union Minister Prakash Javadekar in a tweet which hailed the legendary actor’s contribution to Indian cinema. In a career that spans over five decades, Amitabh Bachchan has given exceptional performances in innumerable movies including  'Agneepath', 'Black', 'Paa' and 'Piku' for which he was awarded the prestigious National Award.

The Dadasaheb Phalke Award was first awarded to actress Devika Rani. Actor Prithviraj Kapoor (1971) and actor Vinod Khanna (2017) are the only posthumous recipients of the award. As of 2017, there have been 49 awardees which include Manna Dey (2007), Shashi Kapoor (2014) and Shyam Benegal (2005).

Amitabh Bachchan needs no introduction as he is one of the most popular movie stars in the country who has acted in many critically and commercially successful films. He conquered the hearts of people and won many fans with outstanding performances in films such as Zanjeer, Deewaar and Sholay. More recently, his great work in films such as Pink, Paa and Piku won him many accolades. He also did a stint in Hollywood with a supporting role in Baz Lurhmann’s The Great Gatsby. The megastar also hosts the popular game show Kaun Banega Crorepati on television.

The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri in 1984, the Padma Bhushan in 2001 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2015 for his contributions to the arts. The Government of France honoured him with its highest civilian honour, Knight of the Legion of Honour, in 2007.