Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Singh Thakur on Tuesday
announced that veteran actor Waheeda Rehman will be conferred the prestigious
Dadasaheb Phalke Lifetime Achievement Award for her stellar contribution to Indian
cinema. Also read: Waheeda Rehman to be honoured with Dadasaheb Phalke

Sharing her excitement on receiving this award Waheed told ANI, “I am happy. This is a
big award from the government. I want to thank I&B Minister Anurag Thakur for it.”

She added, “In the films I did, I often kept in mind that there should be progressive
ideas, women should be allowed to do whatever they want to do because, for centuries,
women were not allowed to move forward, study and write. So they were suppressed
when they also had talent.” “I have met many people from different villages, when I was
in Bangalore, many people who used to work in my factory did not even know how to
write their names, they used their thumbs instead of signing the documents with pen.
But once they learned, we and they had the same dedication. It is not necessary that
you do BA or MBA, every person can learn, and they should be given a chance,” she
continued. She concluded, “I think women have a lot of strength, they have a lot of
brains, they can be very successful if they work wholeheartedly.”