'Dada Saheb Phalke' to Shyam Benegal

New Delhi, Aug 8: Noted film director and Rajya Sabha member Shyam Benegal has got the country's highest honour for cinema 'Dada Saheb Phalke Award', for 2005.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting announced the honour for the veteran filmmaker here today.

Earlier, last evening it had announced the National Film Awards for 2005.

Born in 1934 in Andhra Pradesh, Mr Benegal made his mark in Hindi cinema by films like Ankur, Nishant and Bhumika.

He is known as founder of what has come to be called the 'Middle Cinema'.

Benegal has also produced movies for government organisations and a 53-episode television series on Jawaharlal Nehru's 'Discovery of India' called Bharat Ek Khoj (1988).

Recently, he produced a documentary on the early years of Mahatma Gandhi in South Africa: The Making of the Mahatma.

He was nominated to the Rajya Sabha about a year ago.

UNI