Nagarjuna, Chiranjeevi remember Sridevi at ANR National Award 2019

Legendary actors Sridevi and Rekha were conferred with the ANR National Award on November 17. The award ceremony held in Hyderabad saw Chiranjeevi, Nagarjuna Akkineni, Amala Akkineni, Naga Chaitanya and Vijay Deverakonda among others in attendance.

Remembering Sridevi at the awards ceremony, Nagarjuna said, "I worked with Sridevi in four films. My first film with her was Akhari Poratam. She carried an aura into the set. She was the goddess of grace. Everyone says that the beauty and talent she possessed were God's gift. But I say that Boney Kapoor was a real gift to her. I knew both of them for a long time. While Himmatwala made her a star in Bollywood, it is Mr. India produced by Boney Kapoor that made her a national superstar. ANR garu and Sridevi garu live on as long as cinema is alive."

Rekha, who was also honoured with the ANR National Award, said she "will do a Telugu film soon by learning Telugu like Sridevi garu."

Boney Kapoor, while receiving the award, thanked the Akkineni family and T Subbarami Reddy for the award.

Chiranjeevi was the chief guest at ANR National Award 2019. Nagarjuna said, "I can't express our bonding in words. When I told Chiranjeevi about this award, he cut short his US trip and came here today."

Chiranjeevi also remembered Sridevi at the event. He said, "I worked in 3-4 films with Sridevi. Even during the shoot, she used to talk about cinema. She was completely dedicated to cinema. It's very sad that she left us very early. She acted in almost all Indian languages and became The Lady Superstar of India. I am very happy that this award is giving an opportunity to once again remember her on this stage."

Nagarjuna, Naga Chaitanya, Akhil and Vijay Deverakonda pose for photographers at ANR National Award 2019.