Monday, January 10 2005 22:17 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Noted filmmaker Mrinal Sen will be the recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for his outstanding contribution to Indian cinema, it was officially announced today (Jan 10, 2005).

President A P J Abdul Kalam would present the award to the well-known director at the 51st National Film Awards function in New Delhi on February 2.

The octogenarian filmmaker achieved national and international fame directing an array of films in Bengali and Hindi like "Neel Akasher Nichey", the Kolkata trilogy "Padatik", "Interview" and "Kolkata Ekattor", "Oka Uri Katha", "Genesis," "Mahaprithivi," "Kharij", "Ek Din Protidin," "Bhuvan Shome", "Akaler Sandhaney", "Khandahar", "Ek Din Achanak" and "Antareen" starring Dimple Kapadia and Anjan Datta which was made in 1994.

"Kharij", starring Mamatashankar and Anjan Dutta, took home the jury prize in 1983 in the Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Karlovy Vary film festivals.

A Padma Bhushan awardee, Sen was a member of the Rajya Sabha from 1998 to 2003.

Born on May 14, 1923 in Faridpur, now in Bangladesh, Sen made his first feature film "Raat Bhore" followed by "Neel Akasher Neechey" starring Kali Banerjee. Retrospectives of his films have been shown in many countries across the world.

Known for his pronouncedly pro-Left ideology, Sen has made feature films in Hindi, Bengali, Oriya and Telugu. He has also made several documentaries.

Sen, who has conveyed acceptance of the award, was a member of the National Film Development Corporation, Mumbai, and was chairman of Film and Television Institute of India, Pune.