Dadasaheb Phalke award, a glorious tribute to Pran: Big B

The Dadasaheb Phalke honour for veteran actor Pran, "a large pillar of the Indian film industry", is most deserving, believes Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan.

"A glorious tribute to a great human and a large pillar of the Indian film industry... Pran... the Dadasaheb Phalke award by the state," the 70-year-old tweeted.

Together, Big B and Pran have worked in films like "Sharaabi", "Amar Akbar Anthony", "Zanjeer" and "Don (1978)".

The arch villain of Bollywood, Pran Krishan Sikand - or Pran as he is popularly known, was Friday named for the Dadasaheb Phalke award.

The actor turned 93 in February.

Pran acted in over 400 movies in a career spanning over six decades and played a vast range of roles -- from a hero to a villain to a character artist. He became popular with his roles in "Madhumati", "Ziddi" , "Ram Aur Shyam" and "Zanjeer".