Madhya Pradesh institutes award in Manoj Kumar's name

Bhopal, Aug 5 (IANS) In an honour to film actor Manoj Kumar, the Madhya Pradesh government has decided to institute a Rs 100,000 award in his name. The state government will also recommend Kumar's name for Bharat Ratna to the central government.

The announcement was made by the state's Cultural Minister Laxmikant Sharma while presenting the National Kishore Kumar Award for 2007-08 to Manoj Kumar for his outstanding contribution to Indian cinema, an official release said Tuesday. The award carries prize money of Rs.200,000.

Receiving the honour, Manoj Kumar said the award money would be used for charity.

A 30-minute documentary on the actor was screened on the occasion.

Manoj Kumar is the 11th recipient of this prestigious annual award instituted by the Madhya Pradesh government in 1997.

Other awardees include, Rishikesh Mukherjee(1997-98), Naseeruddin Shah (1998-99), Gulzar (1999-2000), Kaifi Azmi (2000-01), B. R. Chopra (2001-02), Amitabh Bachchan (2002-03), Govind Nihalani (2003-04), Javed Akhtar (2004-05), Shyam Benegal (2005-06) and Shatrughna Sinha (2006-07).