Mumbai: The Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has bestowed its "Living Legend Awards" on cine stars Amitabh Bachchan and Hema Malini, in acknowledgement of their continuing contribution to the Indian film industry.

The awards were presented by Information and Broadcasting Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad at a function held late last night (Mar 15, 2004).

Bachchan is undoubtedly the most recognised face of the Indian industry globally and is among the first to pave the road for corporitsation of the industry, FICCI secretary general Amit Mitra said.

Hema Malni was awarded since she has managed to transcend the limitations of being bracketed as merely an actress, he added.

Dilip Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar, Dev Anand and Asha Bhosle were the earlier recipients of the award.