I am honoured to receive the Dadasaheb Phalke award: Manoj Bajpayee

Manoj Bajpayee will receive the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for his portrayal of Ramchandra Siras in his last film Aligarh.

Bollywood actor Manoj Bajpayee, who has won two National Awards for Satya (1998) and Pinjar (2003), will now be honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in the Best Actor (Critics’ Choice) category. The actor will be awarded for his effortless portrayal of the late professor, Ramchandra Siras, in his last release, Aligarh. Siras was a homosexual, and was suspended from his university after his sexual orientation became public.

“I am honoured to be the recipient of this award; it’s a wonderful feeling,” says Manoj Bajpayee. (Pramod Thakur/Hindustan Times)

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Manoj confirms the news, saying, “I am honoured to be the recipient of this award; it’s a wonderful feeling. I would like to dedicate it to Siras, for the struggle he faced in his journey to show to the world the true meaning of love. I want to thank our director, Hansal Mehta, for his courage to present this story. I also want to thank my co-star, Raj Kummar Rao, and the entire team of Aligarh. I am thankful to my audience and the critics for their tremendous appreciation and love.”

Watch the Aligarh trailer here

Read the Aligarh review here

The awards function will take place on April 24 at a suburban hotel in Mumbai. Manoj will attend the ceremony to receive his trophy.

Read: The brilliance of Manoj Bajpayee: With Aligarh, he’ll redefine himself