Bollywood veteran Dharmendra was presented the Lifetime Achievement Award by the State of New Jersey in the United States, the Joint Parliamentary Resolution passed by the Senate and the General Assembly. Both houses of the Legislature approved a resolution honouring the actor’s immeasurable contribution to Hindi Cinema over the course of his six-decade career and over 300-odd films in which he starred.
Acknowledging the award, Dharmendra thanked Bollywood Insider and said, “I am extremely happy with this honour and proud to receive this one-of-a-kind award.”
The award was awarded to the veteran actor through a zoom function hosted by Bollywood Insider, the premier publication of Hindi Cinema in the United States. Dharmendra was considered “for the first ever historic award by the US State Legislature to an Indian actor for his contribution to the international recognition of Indian Cinema”
The original attempts to allow the star to receive the award at the New Jersey Senate were cancelled due to Covid-19’s travel constraints.
Senator Michael Doherty, who presented the resolution to the Senate, joined the Indian Consul General in New York, Ambassador Randhir Jaiswal, Bollywood Insider publisher Bhalla, Padma Shri Dr Sudhir Parikh, publisher of News India Times, and Assemblyman Upendra Chivukula to present the award to Dharmendra via a zoom meeting. Senator Doherty announced that the resolution was adopted unanimously by all 40 senators and 80 members of the General Assembly.
Ambassador Jaiswal thanked Senator Doherty for heading the New Jersey Legislature resolution to honour “a timeless hero and a great son of India, which was not only a matter of pride for Dharmendra and his family but also for India”
