State to fete Rajnikant, Ashok Saraf

MUMBAI: Tamil superstar Rajnikant will be felicitated with the Raj Kapoor award and veteran Marathi actor Ashok Saraf with the V Shantaram award instituted by the Maharashtra government for their lifetime contribution to cinema.

According to a statement issued by the state cultural department, the Raj Kapoor award comprises a cash prize of Rs one lakh, citation and memento. While the V Shantaram award comprises Rs 1.25 lakh cash prize, memento and citation.

Rajnikant's real name is Shivajirao Gaikwad and hails from Kolhapur. Before hitting big time on celluloid screen, Rajni was a bus conductor. He has acted in more than 150 films in all south Indian languages and Hindi.

 Both he and V Shantaram award winner Ashok Saraf began their celluloid journey from theatre, and then equally distributed his time between Marathi and Hindi films as well as television serials.

Saraf has carved a niche for himself in comedy, serious and roles’ of villains. The awards will be presented on April 30 during the state film awards presentation function in Thane.