Jaya Prada calls Mithun Chakraborty ‘Mahanayak’ on his Dadasaheb Phalke Award honour

Mumbai, Sep 30 : Veteran actress Jaya Prada, who has worked with Mithun Chakraborty in films like ‘Muddat’, ‘Pyaar Ke Do Pal’, ‘Aisa Pyaar Kahan’ and others, has expressed her joy at the actor getting conferred the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award for his contribution to cinema.

The actress spoke to the media in Moradabad where she appeared before a court as a witness to a case related to politician Azam Khan and S. T. Hasan.

When she was informed by the media about Mithun Chakraborty getting feted with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India's highest award in the field of cinema, the actress said, “It’s a moment of pride for all of us in the film fraternity because Mithun da is a ‘mahanayak’. He has worked in many films across several languages”.

She further mentioned, “For me, it’s extremely special that he is getting this honour because we are working together in two upcoming movies. We have completed ‘Rivaaz’ and the other film ‘Fauji’ as well in which I’m sharing the screen with Dada and Prabhas”.

Jaya Prada had filed a case against the SP leader Azam Khan after his derogatory remarks against her in 2019. The SP leader had stoked a controversy with an “underwear” jibe against the actress.

She told the media on Monday that she would soon brief them about the case after she records her statement with the court.

Meanwhile, Mithun Chakraborty will be the 54th winner of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, which was instituted in 1969 in honour of Dadasaheb Phalke, who is considered as the father of Indian cinema. Other recipients of the award include Prithviraj Kapoor, Vinod Khanna, Raj Kapoor, Shashi Kapoor, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, BR Chopra and Yash Chopra. Actor Waheeda Rehman received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2021.