Mumbai: Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday conferred the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke award on veteran actor-filmmaker Shashi Kapoor before an august gathering at the Prithvi Theatre in Mumbai.

The 77-year-old came on the stage in a wheelchair, but he smiled and folded his hands in reverence after receiving the honour.

His family members were present for the occasion, along with actors Amitabh Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan.

Due to Shashi’s ill health, he could not travel to Delhi for the award ceremony on May 3. So, Mr. Jaitley flew in Mumbai to confer the award on him.

A special audio-visual celebrating Shashi’s film and personal journey was also screened at the event. It featured Amitabh, Shabana Azmi, Sharmila Tagore, Rishi Kapoor, Randhir Kapoor talking about the cinematic icon, who also had an equal penchant for theatre.

Shashi is the 46th winner of the honour conferred by the government for outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema.

He started acting in films as a child in the late 1940s. His best known performances as child artist were in Aag and Awaara , where he played the younger version of the character played by his elder brother Raj Kapoor.

When he grew up, he made his debut as a leading man in the 1961 film Dharmputra, and went on to appear in more than 100 Hindi films.

A popular name in Bollywood during the 1960s, 1970s and until the mid-1980s, Shashi was one of India’s first actors to go international. He is known internationally for starring in many British and American films, notably The Householder, Shakespeare Wallah, Bombay Talkie and Heat and Dust.

In 1978, Shashi set up his production house Film Valas, which produced critically acclaimed films such as Junoon, Kalyug, 36 Chowringhee Lane, Vijeta and Utsav.

In 2011, he was honoured with the Padma Bhushan, and he is also a proud recipient of three National Film Awards.