Akkineni Nageswara Rao Award 2008 Presented to Dr. Vyjayantimala Bali

Akkineni Nageswara Rao Award for the year 2008 sponsored by Akkineni International Foundation was presented to Dr.Vyjayanthimala Bali, yesteryear’s actress and classical dancer, at a function held in Jubilee Hall in Public Gardens, Hyderabad on January 10, 2009.

T.Subbiramireddy, Vyjayanthimala Bali, Speaker Suresh Reddy, Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Foundation Secretary Naga Suseela, Akkineni Venkat, Nagarjuna, Sushanth, Naga Chaitanya, Ramanaidu and others graced the function.

Dr Vyjayanthimala Bali was felicitated with a garland by Naga Suseela, Secretary of the foundation, Nagarjuna presented her a shawl, Venkat Akkineni presented a cheque for Rs 4 lakhs, Speaker Suresh Reddy presented a memento and finally Subbirami Reddy presented an appreciation certificate.

Speaking on the occasion Akkkineni Nageswara Rao said that it is fourth in series after sponsoring the award. The first, second and the third were presented to Dev Anand, Shabana Azmi, and Smt. Anjali Devi respectively. He expressed his happiness and thanked Suresh Reddy, the speaker, for his gracious presence and for presenting the award to Vyjayanthimala. He appreciated Vyjayanthimala’s talent and capabilities for giving dance performances even at old age.

ANR while recollecting his past working experiences with the actress said that she stepped into film industry at the age of 16 but acted in a very few films and earned good name and fame. “Although her films are less in number they are the notable ones. She was paired with me in a Tamil film titled ‘Athisayangal’. While I was shooting for Devadas, she was shooting for the Hindi version of Devadas”, said ANR.

Vyjayanthimala expressed her happiness for receiving the award and described it as blessings from Telugu Thalli and said ‘Jai Andhra Mata’. Recollecting her past film carrier she said, “I started my career 40 years ago and my first film in Telugu was ‘Jeevitham’. I even dubbed my voice in ‘Sangham’ film. I did a film with Akkineni garu and I know him as a person who rendered his yeoman services to the film industry.

Suresh Reddy, the speaker said that Vyjayanthimala is a deserving person for this award. He commented that politicians have tension every five years whereas cine actors have it for every film. He also said that Akkineni was responsible for the Telugu film industry being shifted from Madras to Hyderabad.

T.Subbirami Reddy, speaking on the occasion appreciated Akkineni Nageswara Rao for giving away his own award and made a history in doing so. He opined that Vyjanthimala is not just an actress but also a good dancer and a good politician too. She is the role model for today’s heroines.

Akkineni Nagarjuna paid "vote of thanks" to all the honourable guests for their gracious presence.