Anant Nag to Receive Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India's Top Cinema Honour
Veteran actor Anant Nag will receive the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India's highest honour in cinema, for the year 2024, Variety reported.
The Government of India announced the honour ahead of a presentation ceremony on Sept. 22 in Kevadia, Gujarat. The prize will be given as part of the 72nd National Film Awards in Ekta Nagar, according to the Press Information Bureau.
The award is given for outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema. It was instituted in 1969 in memory of Dadasaheb Phalke, widely regarded as the father of Indian cinema. Phalke directed Raja Harischandra in 1913, India's first full-length feature film.
Nag made his acting debut in the Kannada-language film Sankalpa in 1973. A year later he made his Hindi-language debut in Ankur. Since then he has appeared in more than 300 films across Kannada, Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil and Marathi cinema.
Television viewers know him from Malgudi Days, the much-loved series based on R. K. Narayan's stories. His work has brought five Filmfare Awards and five Karnataka State Best Actor Awards, alongside the Karnataka Rajyotsava Award and an honorary doctorate from Bangalore University (North).
Outside acting, Nag spent more than a decade in public life. He served in the Karnataka Legislative Council from 1988 to 1994, then in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly from 1994 to 1999. While an MLA, he held the post of Minister of State for Bangalore City Development.
He received the Padma Bhushan, one of India's top civilian honours, in 2025. Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Nag on the latest announcement.
What makes this stand out is the sheer span. Five decades on screen. Six languages. Stage, film, television and politics in between.
