Aamir Khan boycotted film award ceremonies about 16 years ago and he made sure he stuck to his decision. The last award ceremony he attended was the Academy Awards in 2002 when his film Lagaan, which he also produced, was nominated in the Best foreign film category. So everybody was in for a surprise on Monday evening, when the actor decided to make an exception to his boycott rule and attended the Master Dinanath Mangeshkar Awards. The actor accepted the ‘Vishesh Puraskar’ for his strong and inspirational portrayal of wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat and how he trained his daughters Geeta and Babita to become world class wrestlers in the film ‘Dangal’.
Late Mangeshkar, the Nightingale of India, extended an invitation to the actor, which he could not turn down. Yesteryear actress Vyjayanthimala and cricket legend Kapil Dev were also honoured at the ceremony for their outstanding contribution to Indian cinema and Indian Cricket respectively. The function also marked the 75th death anniversary of Dinanath Mangeshkar, didi’s father, who was a veteran Marathi theatre actor and a renowned classical vocalist. Incidentally, that was the year Lata Mangeshwar began her film playback career too.
The other surprising fact about this event was that Aamir, who was called ‘Anti- National’ and severely criticised for his comments about rising intolerance in India in 2015, was presented his award by the chief of the Hindu Nationalist organistaion Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Mohan Bhagwat.
Aamir Khan thanked the Dinanath Trust and the entire Mangeshkar family for the honour. He also reiterated the fact that he owes his success to all the writers and directors he has worked with in his illustrious career of nearly 30 years in the Indian film industry.
The actor will soon be seen in the film ‘Secret Superstar’. He is also preparing for another film called Thugs of Hindostan, in which he will share screen space with Amitabh Bachchan.
