Rajinikanth will be honoured with the 51st Dadasaheb Phalke Award, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar announced on Thursday.

Javadekar took to Twitter to announce the news. Calling Rajinikanth "one of the greatest actors in the history of Indian cinema", he said that the actor was being awarded for his contribution in the field of acting, production and screenwriting for Indian cinema.