Yash Chopra has been no stranger to awards conferred on him by Indian as well as international government and private bodies – rich tributes all to his impressive body of work, and his social contributions. But the latest such award was no doubt be a little sweeter than the rest, coming as it does from the government of his adopted state of Maharashtra.

On the 44th Marathi Film Festival and Awards, Vilasrao Deshmukh, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, handed over to Yash Chopra the coveted Raj Kapoor Award in recognition of his impressive contributions to the Hindi film industry. The Award consists of a citation, a memento and Rs. 1 lakh.

Said Yash Chopra on this occasion, “I am honoured that the Government of Maharashtra has chosen me for this award. I have always believed that the realisation of my dreams was largely enabled by the spirit of the city of Mumbai and the state of Maharashtra, and to be honoured by its government is doubly gratifying for me. And the fact that the award is named after Raj Kapoor sahaab, who like me was born in Punjab but made this state his own, only makes it that much more special”.

The glittering ceremony featured well known film artistes as guests of honour: Suneil Shetty, Ritesh Deshmukh and Madhuri Dixit. It was held in Kolhapur at the Shivaji Stadium and was a memorable occasion for one of the doyens of Indian film industry, and a tribute to the high regard in which the film industry itself is held in by the Government of Maharashtra.