Dharmendra to get Phalke Ratna award

New Delhi, April 21 (IANS) Yesteryears star Dharmendra, 75, will receive the Phalke Ratna, the highest award by the Dadasaheb Phalke Academy, for over five decades of contribution to Indian cinema. The award will be given away at a ceremony in Mumbai May 3.

He was last seen in "Yamla Pagla Deewana", and is still raring to go.

"Yesteryears star Asha Parekh will also be honoured with the legendary icon actress award at the event," Ashok Shekhar, director of events, Dadasaheb Phalke Academy, told IANS.

Bollywood actress Rani Mukerji, too, is in the que to get an award this year. She will be honoured for her "outstanding performance" as a journalist in Rajkumar Gupta's "No One Killed Jessica", while Priyanka Chopra will be honoured for her "memorable performance" in Vishal Bharadwaj's "7 Khoon Maaf".

Hit couple Ranveer Singh and Anushka Sharma will be awarded for their performance in "Band Baaja Baaraat", and Arbaaz Khan will be bestowed with the debutant producer award for his superhit project "Dabangg".

Dharmendra Pictures