MUMBAI, Dec 10 : Legendary actor and Bollywood filmmaker Dev Anand has been awarded this year’s Dadasaheb Phalke award,the prestigious accolade given by the Indian government for lifetime contributions to the cinema.

The 80-year-old actor-producer-director is one of the few surviving legends of the pre-partition era.

Known for his boundless energy and enthusiasm, Dev Anand came from a village in Punjab and as a youngster attended college in Lahore.

He left a Bombay post office job in 1946 when his first film “Hum Ek Hain” was released. It bombed at the box office but the actor persisted and two years later scored a hit with “Ziddi”, based on a novel by famous short story writer and novelist Ismat Chughtai.

Known as a stylish actor, he was often referred to as Bollywood’s Gregory Peck.

In 1949, he launched his own movie production company, Navketan Films, which still produces movies, and has turned out some of India’s greatest hits, including Anand’s all-time favourite, “Guide”, a 1969 love story about a married dancer and a tour guide.—AFP