Bollywood’s Shahenshah Amitabh Bachchan presented the ANR National Award to Telugu megastar Chiranjeevi at a grand ceremony in Hyderabad on Monday. Speaking on the occasion, Bachchan remarked that he could now call himself a “member of the Telugu film industry.” He also paid tribute to legendary Telugu actor-producer Akkineni Nageswara Rao (1923-2014), in whose honour the ANR National Award was instituted by the Akkineni International Foundation, and commended his successors for upholding his legacy.

“I want to express my gratitude to Nag (Nageswara Rao’s son and actor Nagarjuna Akkineni), the foundation, and the entire family for bringing to life a colossus that we have had the privilege to observe on this earth of Telugu cinema and indeed the entire film industry. He has given us so much happiness, joy, entertainment, and culture. It is very difficult for anyone to stand here and match his (ANR’s) contribution to Indian cinema,” he said.