Smita Patel Memorial Award was created in honor of late actress Smita Patel who has made numerous contributions as an actress. When Indian cinema celebrated its 100th year in April 2013, Forbes India included her performance in the film on its list, “25 Greatest Acting Performances of Indian Cinema.”
Patil was an women’s right activist who advocated for women and became famous for her roles in films that portrayed women as capable and empowered, unlike other films at the time who tended to glorify male heroes in their storylines.
Priyadarshni Academy is a non-profit organization with a focus on social issues, culture, and education. The academy awards this prestigious award every year to various achievers from different professions and backgrounds for their services to raise awareness in their society in various ways. Among the awardees, Anushka Sharma will be given the Smita Patil Award.
Past recipients of this prestigious awards include Rekha, Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone, Juhi Chawla, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, and Katrina Kaif.
Anushka Sharma has continued to reinvent herself through her work as a producer and as an actor for 10 years. It’s hard to believe that she charmed the audience with her sweet presence with Shah Rukh Khan in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. Throughout the years, Sharma proved her acting capabilities through varieties of challenging roles – including starting her own production company Clean Slate Films – in NH10 (2015), Sultan (2016), Pari (2018) just to name a few. Because of her contribution as an actress and as a producer developing films with interesting storylines, it comes as no shock that Anushka Sharma was awarded for Best Actor for this event.
At the Priyadarshni Academy award ceremony, Anushka Sharma looked absolutely regal in a emerald green and gold saree made by local tailors. Keeping her accessories to a minimum has allowed the traditional saree to take the main spotlight.
According to Hindustan Times, Anushka Sharma
thanked all the writers and directors for playing a key role in her success journey.
“I also want to thank all the writers who wrote amazing roles for me and the directors who envisioned me in those roles. I don’t think any actor’s career is complete without the contribution of these two people. I want to thank every supporter of mine all over the world who supported me and accepted me for who I am,” she said.
While receiving the award, Anushka said, “It’s a great honour to have watched the work of great Smita Patilji. She has been a true inspiration, not just for me but many actresses and many women for her bold, difficult and fearless choices that she made with her work. She managed to be disruptive and not adhere to norms of the industry where rules are usually set by others. So, I really appreciate and admire her.”
Anushka Sharma is gearing up for the release of Sui Dhaaga. Her upcoming film is inspired by the “Make in India” campaign launched by the Indian government in 2014 whose focus was to highlight the industries producing textiles and fabrics. Sui Dhaaga, produced by Yash Raj Films, releases internationally on September 28th.
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