New Delhi:  Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan, who has entertained cinema lovers with his performances for over four decades, has been selected for the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest award in the field of cinema in the country.

Making the announcement, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar, taking to twitter, said, “the legend Amitabh Bachchan, who entertained and inspired for two generations has been selected unanimously for the Dadasaheb Phalke Award. The entire country and international community is happy. My heartiest Congratulations to him.’’

Amitabh Bachchan , who is known for critically acclaimed and commercially successful films like ‘Deewar,’ ‘Zanzeer,’ ‘Sholay,’ ‘Pink,’ ‘Black,’ ‘Paa,’ ‘Piku,’ and the recent   ‘Badla,’ has earlier been honoured with the Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan 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.

Amitabh Bachchan has also won four National Film Awards for Best Actor through his illustrious career, last winning it for his performance in 2015 film ‘Piku.’ 

Amitabh Bachchan currently appears on TV as the host of Kaun Banega Crorepati 11. He was last seen in crime-thriller Badla.