The award, which was introduced last year to celebrate the 100 years of Indian cinema, was given to Rajinikanth today by Amitabh Bachchan at the opening of 45th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) here. The award went to Waheeda Rehman last year.
"Rajini sir is a big actor and his contribution to Indian cinema is immense. I feel this honour should have been given to him much earlier. It's a late honour for him," Manoj said on the red carpet of IFFI.
Manoj, 45, who is gearing up for upcoming movie 'Tevar', said the film festival is a great opportunity for him to watch some good films.
"Being a part of IFFI is a fortunate opportunity as we miss many good films and in this festival we get to watch them. Apart from cinema, we get to have a good vacation too," said Manoj, who has been part of the festival earlier also.