Question:medium

Name the actor who has been honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2012.

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Think of the actor who played Apu for Satyajit Ray and stayed his leading man across fourteen films.
Updated On: Jul 17, 2026
  • Naseerudin Shah
  • Kamal Hasan
  • Soumitra Chatterjee
  • Amol Paleker
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The Correct Option is C

Solution and Explanation

The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is a lifetime achievement honour in Indian cinema, instituted in 1969 and first given to Devika Rani. Only one name in this list had won it by 2012, so the question is really a test of whether you followed the National Film Awards that year.

  1. Naseerudin Shah: A giant of the parallel cinema movement, with films like Sparsh, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro and Masoom. He holds Padma awards but not the Phalke, so this is wrong.
  2. Kamal Hasan: A hugely decorated Tamil actor, director and screenwriter with several National Film Awards to his name. He had not been given the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2012.
  3. Soumitra Chatterjee: The Bengali actor who was Satyajit Ray's favourite lead. He first appeared as Apu in Apur Sansar in 1959 and worked with Ray across fourteen films. He was chosen for the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2011, announced and presented in 2012, which makes this the correct answer.
  4. Amol Paleker: The face of the everyday middle class hero in Rajnigandha, Chhoti Si Baat and Gol Maal. Widely respected, but not a Phalke recipient.

The answer is option (C), Soumitra Chatterjee.

Let's summarize:

  • The Phalke Award is India's top film honour, named after the maker of Raja Harishchandra.
  • Soumitra Chatterjee received it in 2012 for the year 2011.
  • His fame rests largely on his work with Satyajit Ray, beginning with Apur Sansar.

So the actor honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2012 was Soumitra Chatterjee.

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