Date:31/08/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/08/31/stories/2007083162131200.htm

Andhra Pradesh

NTR award for Krishna, Ilayaraja, Ambarish

Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD: Film actor G. Krishna, music maestro Ilayaraja and Kannada film star Ambarish have been named for the prestigious NTR National Film Award for the years 2003, 2004 and 2005 respectively.

Their names were announced on Thursday after the Andhra Pradesh Government cleared the proposals submitted by a selection committee comprising T.L. Kantha Rao, M. Balaiah and M. Mohan Babu, all film personalities. Each award carries a cash prize of Rs. 5 lakh, a citation, a shawl and a specially-designed silver memento. The awards will be given away at the presentation of the annual Nandi Film Awards of the State Government in November.

The awards were instituted in 1996 by the then Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu, in memory of the legendary actor and former Chief Minister N.T. Rama Rao who strode the Telugu film industry like a colossus for nearly five decades. The earlier recipients of the award were Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Dilip Kumar, Sivaji Ganesan, Lata Mangeshkar, Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Bhanumathi Ramakrishna and Raj Kumar. The award is being revived after four years.