Eminent singer Manna Dey has been conferred the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2007 for his outstanding contribution to cinema. The 90-year-old singer, with over 3,500 songs to his credit in a six-decade-long career, will receive the Swaran Kamal, a Rs 10 lakh cash prize and a shawl from President Pratibha Patil at the national film awards function on October 21. I&B ministry officials said Dey was chosen earlier this week by a four-member committee comprising sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan, filmmakers Yash Chopra and Vijaya Mulye and veteran Telugu actor A.
Nageshwara Rao.
The award was constituted in 1969, the centenary year of Dadasaheb Phalke, considered the father of Indian cinema, and is given for lifetime contribution to Indian cinema. Dey, born on May 1, 1919, who started his playback singing career with Tamanna in 1943, dominated the Hindi music industry from the 1950s to the 1970s with his distinctive voice. A recipient of both the Padma Shri and the Padma Bhushan, the best-known films to which he lent his voice include Awaara, Do Bigha Zamin, Mera Naam Joker, Bobby, Zanjeer, Padosan and Sholay.
