AMITABH BACHCHAN - BACHCHAN HONOURED IN FRANCE

BACHCHAN HONOURED IN FRANCE

Bollywood legend AMITABH BACHCHAN has been presented with France's highest civilian honour, the Legion d'Honneur. Bachchan was given the award at the French Embassy in the Indian capital of Delhi on Saturday (27JAN07). He said, "It fills me with great pride. It's not just an award for me, it's the recognition of the achievement of the Indian cinema. It's an award for the entire film industry. "India has arrived on the global cinema stage, the carping critics have been silenced, and the cynicism about the Hindi film industry has given way to world-wide appreciation." Ambassador DOMINIQUE GIRARD described Bachchan as a "towering Indian personality" and the "number one actor of Indian cinema", adding that the award "brings him into the international legion of world's greatest artistes". Bachchan has appeared in over 140 movies and topped a 1999 BBC News website poll to greatest star of the millennium, beating the likes of MARLON BRANDO and CHARLIE CHAPLIN.