Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Singh Thakur on Tuesday announced that veteran actor Waheeda Rehman will be conferred the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Lifetime Achievement Award for her stellar contribution to Indian cinema.
Sharing her excitement on receiving this award, Waheeda Rehman told ANI, "I am happy. This is a big award from the government. I want to thank I&B Minister Anurag Thakur for it.”
She added, “In the films I did, I often kept in mind that there should be progressive ideas, women should be allowed to do whatever they want to do because, for centuries, women were not allowed to move forward, study and write. So they were suppressed when they also had talent.”
“I have met many people from different villages, when I was in Bangalore, many people who used to work in my factory did not even know how to write their names, they used their thumbs instead of signing the documents with pen. But once they learned, we and they had the same dedication. It is not necessary that you do BA or MBA, every person can learn, and they should be given a chance,” she continued.
She concluded, “I think women have a lot of strength, they have a lot of brains, they can be very successful if they work wholeheartedly."
Speaking on her award announcement, which coincided with Dev Anand's 100th birth anniversary on September 26, she said, “I started with Dev Saheb. He was the co-star in my first Hindi film. I think this is the gift I got on his 100th birthday.”
