Big B 10 poses outside 10 Downing Street.
London:
Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchanhas been honoured with the Global Diversity Award 2013 at theState Room of Britain's House of Commons here.
Speaker of the House of Commons, Rt Hon John Bercow MPpresented the ornately sculpted glass Award to the 71-year-oldactor describing him as "a Bollywood icon and the most famousIndian film star of all time."
Describing Mr Bachchan as a role model, Speaker Bercow said,"You have been a role model and Amitabh you deserve theaward."British actor Hugh Grant was present at the award ceremonywhich was chaired by Rt Hon Keith Vaz, MP, Chairman, HomeAffairs Select Committee.
The citation noted that "Amitabh Bachchan first gained popularityin the early 1970s as the 'angry young man' of Hindi cinema,and has since appeared in over 180 Indian films in a careerspanning more than four decades. Amitabh Bachchan is regarded as oneof the greatest and most influential actors in the history ofIndian cinema."
"He is a Global patron for the diabetes charity SilverStar and last year was presented with a Mobile Diabetes Unitfor his home city Mumbai named 'Amitabh' in his honour," thecitation said.
Receiving the award, Mr Bachchan said he was overwhelmed toreceive the "extremely historic award.""I have been extremely overwhelmed by the love andaffection of the people of Great Britain," and thanked hisparents and family for their support in achieving what he did.He said when Keith Vaz introduced him to the Diabetesawareness campaign, "It has been a great privilege and honourto visit various cities in helping people to tackle diabetes."
The actor thanked Vaz for naming one of the MobileDiabetes Units in his name in Mumbai and welcomed theannouncement to start yet another mobile unit in Delhi, namedafter his father Harvanshrai Bachchan.
"My father taught English in Allahabad University and in1952 he was the first Indian to get a Doctorate in EnglishLanguage at the Cambridge. He completed his Doctorate in twoyears instead of the normal 4 years."
Referring to Bollywood, he said, "There are very fewinstitutions which can boast of such unity as the Filmindustry."
Asked about his future plans, Mr Bachchan said, "I just did afilm called Satyagraha which dealt with socio-politicalissues. There are several other films in the pipelineincluding Bhootnath 2. I am also currently busy with thelatest Hindi version of Who wants to become a Millionaire.
In his brief address, actor Hugh Grant said, "It is trulya great pleasure meeting Amitabh Bachchan. He is a giganticactor, super star who is hugely popular. He is also like asaint in some way because of his charity and animal welfarework. If ever anyone who deserves the Global Diversity Award,it is Amitabh Bachchan. Congratulations.
Speaker of the House of Commons, Rt Hon John Bercow MPpresented the ornately sculpted glass Award to the 71-year-oldactor describing him as "a Bollywood icon and the most famousIndian film star of all time."
Describing Mr Bachchan as a role model, Speaker Bercow said,"You have been a role model and Amitabh you deserve theaward."British actor Hugh Grant was present at the award ceremonywhich was chaired by Rt Hon Keith Vaz, MP, Chairman, HomeAffairs Select Committee.
The citation noted that "Amitabh Bachchan first gained popularityin the early 1970s as the 'angry young man' of Hindi cinema,and has since appeared in over 180 Indian films in a careerspanning more than four decades. Amitabh Bachchan is regarded as oneof the greatest and most influential actors in the history ofIndian cinema."
"He is a Global patron for the diabetes charity SilverStar and last year was presented with a Mobile Diabetes Unitfor his home city Mumbai named 'Amitabh' in his honour," thecitation said.
Receiving the award, Mr Bachchan said he was overwhelmed toreceive the "extremely historic award.""I have been extremely overwhelmed by the love andaffection of the people of Great Britain," and thanked hisparents and family for their support in achieving what he did.He said when Keith Vaz introduced him to the Diabetesawareness campaign, "It has been a great privilege and honourto visit various cities in helping people to tackle diabetes."
The actor thanked Vaz for naming one of the MobileDiabetes Units in his name in Mumbai and welcomed theannouncement to start yet another mobile unit in Delhi, namedafter his father Harvanshrai Bachchan.
"My father taught English in Allahabad University and in1952 he was the first Indian to get a Doctorate in EnglishLanguage at the Cambridge. He completed his Doctorate in twoyears instead of the normal 4 years."
Referring to Bollywood, he said, "There are very fewinstitutions which can boast of such unity as the Filmindustry."
Asked about his future plans, Mr Bachchan said, "I just did afilm called Satyagraha which dealt with socio-politicalissues. There are several other films in the pipelineincluding Bhootnath 2. I am also currently busy with thelatest Hindi version of Who wants to become a Millionaire.
In his brief address, actor Hugh Grant said, "It is trulya great pleasure meeting Amitabh Bachchan. He is a giganticactor, super star who is hugely popular. He is also like asaint in some way because of his charity and animal welfarework. If ever anyone who deserves the Global Diversity Award,it is Amitabh Bachchan. Congratulations.
