Anant Nag to Receive Dadasaheb Phalke Award — SkimNews
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- Anant Nag will receive the Dadasaheb Phalke Award at a Sept. 22 ceremony in Kevadia, Gujarat, as part of the 72nd National Film Awards, the Government of India announced.
- The Dadasaheb Phalke Award, instituted in 1969 in memory of "Raja Harischandra" (1913) director Dadasaheb Phalke — considered the father of Indian cinema — honors outstanding contribution to Indian cinema.
- Nag made his Kannada-language debut in "Sankalpa" (1973) and his Hindi-language debut in "Ankur" (1974), going on to appear in more than 300 films across Kannada, Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil and Marathi cinema, plus the TV series "Malgudi Days."
- Nag's awards include five Filmfare Awards, five Karnataka State Best Actor Awards, the Karnataka Rajyotsava Award, the Karnataka Sahitya Academy Award, the Karnataka State Lifetime Achievement Award, and an honorary doctorate from Bangalore University (North).
- Nag also served in Karnataka politics from 1988 to 1999, including as a Legislative Council member and then Legislative Assembly member holding the post of Minister of State for Bangalore City Development, and received the Padma Bhushan in 2025.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Nag on X, praising his "effortless performances, remarkable versatility and brilliance" particularly in Kannada cinema and calling the honor "richly deserved."
Why it matters: Nag's selection — announced for the Sept. 22 ceremony in Kevadia — places the 72nd National Film Awards' top honor on a Kannada cinema veteran with 300+ films across six languages, a Karnataka political career, and a Padma Bhushan received in 2025, joining a recipient roster that includes Amitabh Bachchan, Dilip Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar.
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