Actor, Manisha Koirala, was recognised for her contributions to cinema with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award. She was honoured with the Phalke Brave and Beautiful award at a ceremony in Mumbai. Koirala, who recently made a comeback to silver screens with Dear Maya, took to Twitter where she shared a video link of her accpting the award.

The actor spoke about her battle with ovarian cancer during the ceremony, stating “crisis taught me the value of life.” Having spent a year in New York to undergo “traumatic chemotherapy,” Koirala has returned to acting after a long hiatus.

Koirala has also become a sought-after motivational speaker and a champion for cancer prevention awareness. In the past year, she delivered several motivational talks at various multinational companies, schools and hospitals.

In her TEDx talk delivered in Jaipur, Koirala had said, “We have a choice—we can either be consumed by our problems, become a victim and be defined by that problem, or we can turn it around into a platform for our growth. We can turn the worst situation into a narrative of triumph. The wisdom and courage is all within us already.”

The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is one of the most prestigious awards in Indian Cinema. Named after Dadasaheb Phalke (1870-1944), a film producer, director, and screenwriter who is celebrated as the ‘father of Indian cinema’, the award was established in 1969 by the Indian government to honour members of the film industry for “outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema.”

The award is presented annually during the National Film Awards and includes Golden lotus (medallion) and a purse of $15,000.        

Other awardees include Bollywood actor Bhumi Pednekar and Akshay Kumar bagged the best actress and best actor award respectively. Film Director, Rakesh Roshan won a Lifetime achievement award for contribution to the industry as an actor, producer and a director. Also, veteran actor, Farida Jalal won the Saraswatibai Dadasaheb Phalke Best actress (Lifetime) award.