ANR Awards honours actors Sridevi and Rekha for their contribution to the film industry

ANR Awards, organised on Sunday in Hyderabad in honour of Akkineni Nagarjuna Rao, felicitated veteran actors Rekha and Sridevi (posthumously) for their contribution to Indian cinema. Director Boney Kapoor accepted the award on behalf of his wife, late actor Sridevi as he broke into tears while thanking the Akkineni family and organiser industrialist T Subbarami Reddy for the award. South Indian actors Chiranjeevi, Nagarjuna Akkineni, Amala Akkineni, Naga Chaitanya and Vijay Deverakonda were among the stars who graced the occasion.

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Fond memories of Sridevi

Veteran actors Sridevi and Rekha were conferred with the ANR National Award for 2018 and 2019 respectively, which was presented by Telugu actor Chiranjeevi. The actor fondly recalled the late actor as he said that he had worked with Sridevi in a few films and had known her as someone completely dedicated to cinema. Sri Devi had made her big-screen debut in a Tamil film Kandan Karunai at the age of 4. The late actor had acted in several South Indian films in her career with legends like Akkineni Nagarjuna Rao and NT Rama Rao.

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Popular Telugu actor Nagarjuna also looked back in time to his first film with Sridevi. His first film with her was Akhari Poratam and the duo had worked in four films together. He reminisced about the grace and beauty of the late actor and called her aura and talent a gift from God. He also claimed that producer Boney Kapoor had been the real gift for Sridevi as it was with his film Mr.India that she had gained recognition as a national superstar.

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Rekha's cinematic journey

Veteran actor, Rekha, who is also the daughter of Tamil cinema legend Gemini Ganesan, was honoured with the ANR National Award for her role in the film industry. The 65-year-old actor had started her career as an infant in a Telugu film Inti Guttu in 1958. At the award ceremony, she expressed her desire to return to Tollywood and speak fluent Tamil like late actor Sridevi did in her films.

Rekha is known for her versatility as an actor and also the grace with which she carries herself at social events. The actor has acted in films like the Krrish franchise and Super Nani in the recent past. The actor was also rumoured to play the role of Sakina Bano Begum in Ashutosh Gowariker's Panipat. The historical period drama film is set to hit the theatres on December 6 and stars Arjun Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt and Kriti Sanon in the lead roles. 

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