Nagarjuna and his family hand out ANR Awards every year in memory of his father, the late actor-producer Akkineni Nageswara Rao (ANR). This year, the event took place on November 17 at Annapurna Studios in Hyderabad and was attended by the entire Akkineni family including Naga Chaitanya, Nagarjuna, Amala, Akhil and others. Missing in action was Samantha Akkineni, who is currently busy with the shooting for her upcoming project.
Recently, Nagarjuna told mediapersons that Sridevi will be honoured for her contribution to cinema for the year 2018. Rekha will be felicitated for excellence in cinema for 2019. Producer Boney Kapoor accepted the Akkineni Nageswara Rao (ANR) Award on behalf of his late wife and eighties Bollywood superstar Sridevi and got teary-eyed. "I am sure she (Sridevi) would have felt humbled. I accept this award on her behalf with with humility. Thank you," Boney said at the event.
On the other hand, Rekha on getting the award, said, "Brain is not a part of you. It plays games with you. Sometimes it can be your worst enemy. You have to constantly come back to your brain. I always monitor what I give to my brain." She added, "ANR told me that we give food to our bodies as it serves physical stamina. You should walk, dance, swim and do many things. But, you should give food to your brain as it serves your soul. This preaching of the legendary actor remained in my my mind eternally."
The ANR award recognises film artistes whose body of work has made a lasting impact of outstanding artistic, cultural and commercial significance to the field of cinema.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror/IANS/Twitter)