Fans chant Thalaivaa as Rajinikanth returns with Dadasaheb Phalke award. Watch

Actor Rajinikanth was honoured with the DadaSaheb Phalke award at the 67th National Film Awards on Monday in the Capital. He was welcomed by fans in Chennai with chants of Thalaivaa as he returned home on Tuesday.

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In a clip that posted on Twitter, fans gathered outside Rajinikanth’s residence and greeted him by shouting  “Thalaivaa…Thalaivaa…Love you, Thalaivaa”.

Rajinikanth acknowledged his fans’ chants with his signature namaste.

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On being presented with the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke award on Monday, Rajinikanth had said, “I dedicate this award to my guru and mentor K Balachander sir, whom I remember him with gratitude. I also dedicate this award to my brother Sathyanarayana Rao Gaikwad, who was a father figure. He raised me with great values, and instilled spirituality in me.”

Rajinikanth’s received India’s highest film honour from Vice President Venkaiah Naidu at New Delhi’s Vigyan Bhawan. The actor attended the ceremony with his son-in-law Dhanush, who won the National Film Award for Best Actor for his performance in Asuran.

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Rajinikanth’s wife Latha and their daughter Aishwarya, who is married to Dhanush, were also present at the event. A jury made up of singers Asha Bhosle and Shankar Mahadevan, actors Mohanlal and Biswajeet Chatterjee and filmmaker Subhash Ghai had selected Rajinikanth for the honour earlier this year.

At the National Film Awards today, actor Biswajit Chatterjee said they selected Rajinikanth for the honour because he is a “talented” person and very “down to earth.”

Earlier, Rajinikanth shared a statement on Twitter about receiving the award and called it one of the “two special landmarks” – the other one being his daughter Soundarya Vishagan’s new app named Hoote, which is to be launched this evening.

In his statement, Rajinikanth wrote: “Tomorrow is an important occasion for me with two special landmarks. One, Dadasaheb Phalke Award, being conferred upon me by the Government of India because of the love and support of the people.”