Bollywood producer Boney Kapoor broke into tears after accepting Akkineni Nageswara Rao (ANR) National Award on behalf of his late wife and English Vinglish actor Sridevi.
“I’m sure she (Sridevi) would have felt humbled to receive this award and I accept this on her behalf with humility,” he said at an event held at Annapurna Seven Acres here on Sunday.
Veteran actors Sridevi and Rekha were conferred with the ANR National Award for 2018 and 2019 respectively, which was presented by renowned Telugu actor Chiranjeevi.
Instituted by the Akkineni International Foundation, the annual award honours those who have made a lasting impact on Indian cinema. After accepting the award, versatile actor Rekha, who started her career when she was a one-year-old child in the Telugu film Inti Guttu in 1958, said she was glad to have received the honour alongside Sridevi and considered it as a homecoming. “Sridevi is my little sister and an actor par excellence,” she said.
Recalling her association with ANR, the 65-year-old actor said Annapurna Studios was like her home production and she did a Telugu film titled Amma Kosam for her mother, “and now, I’m here to thank my another mother -- Annapurna Studios”.
Expressing her desire to stage a comeback to Tollywood industry, Ms. Rekha said, “To get fluency in the language, I want to do a Telugu film soon. I have to hone my speaking skills akin to how Sridevi used to deliver her dialogues effortlessly”.
Mr. Chiranjeevi said he always looked up to ANR as his guru and was honoured to share the silver screen with him in Mechanic Alludu (1993). Terming ANR an encyclopedia of acting, the Khaidi actor said ANR has been an inspiration to them, while his mother was an ardent admirer the former actor’s work. “I feel fortunate to present this prestigious award to legendary personalities like Sridevi and Rekha. Sridevi made a lasting impact with her acting talent on our hearts, but gone too soon,” the Megastar said.
ANR Awards Committee chairman and industrialist T. Subbirami Reddy, actor Akkineni Nagarjuna, his wife Amala, and several prominent members of the film industry graced the occasion.
