PHOTOS - 68th National Film Awards Ceremony: President Droupadi Murmu presents award to Asha Parekh, Ajay Devgn, Suriya and others

68th National Film Awards: Veteran actor Asha Parekh was on Friday honoured with the Dada Saheb Phalke award, the highest recognition in the field of Indian cinema. Parekh, 79, was presented the award by President Droupadi Murmu during the 68th National Film Awards ceremony, held at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi. The veteran said she is grateful to receive the prestigious award a day before her 80th birthday.

"It is a huge honour to have received the Dada Saheb Phalke award. It makes me very grateful that the recognition comes to me just one day before my 80th birthday. This is the best honour I could get from the Government of India. I would like to thank the jury for the recognition that they have bestowed upon me, my long journey and fulfilling the journey in the film industry," said Parekh, who is the recipient of the award for the year 2020.

Information & Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said Parekh motivated many women to follow their dreams.

The award for the Best Feature Film was bagged by Tamil film Soorarai Pottru. Suriya, the lead actor for this film, received the Best Actor Award for his performance in the film. He jointly shared the honours with Ajay Devgn, who was chosen for the award for his performance in the film Tanhaji — which also happened to be the recipient for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment award.