Actor-politician Mithun Chakraborty has been named as the recipient of the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award, which is the highest Indian government honour accorded for contributions in the field of cinema. 

The news was announced today by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on X (formerly Twitter), where he expressed his honour in revealing that the Dadasaheb Phalke Selection Jury has selected the legendary actor for this prestigious award.

The award will be presented at the 70th National Film Awards ceremony on October 8.

The three-time National Award winner, who is one of the very few to have won the Best Actor win on debut, is a veteran of over 350 films in Hindi, Bengali, Bhojpuri, Odia, Telugu, and Tamil.

Born in Calcutta, Chakraborty made his acting debut in the 1976 film "Mrigayaa," a role that earned him the National Film Award for Best Actor. Throughout his career, he won two more National Film Awards for his performances in "Tahader Katha" (1992) and "Swami Vivekananda" (1998). Recently, he appeared in "The Kashmir Files," directed by Vivek Agnihotri. 

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Previously legendary actress Waheeda Rehman won the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for her contribution to Indian cinema with her prolific performances in films like "Guide," "Pyaasa," "Kaagaz Ke Phool," and "Chaudhvin Ka Chaand," among others.