Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], January 26 : Veteran actor Anil Rastogi is set to be conferred with the Padma Shri for his long and wide contribution to theatre, films, TV, radio and OTT.
The recognition seems to have given the 82-year-old Lucknow-based artist even more energy, not slowed him down.
The Government of India recently announced the Padma Shri for Rastogi, recognising over six decades of work in the arts.
The actor is known to several movie fans for his role in the Arjun Kapoor starrer Ishaqzaade (2012), but his journey goes far beyond cinema. In 61 years of his career, he has completed 100 stage plays, acted in more than 70 films, worked in 12 OTT series and appeared in nearly 500 television episodes.
Speaking to ANI, Rastogi shared how he felt about the honour: "It feels good to receive this because someone in the theatre world received this Padma Shri a long time ago. Raj Bisaria ji received it in the 1990s, and since then, I think, no one in theatre in our UP has received such an award."
"So, obviously, I consider it a great honour, and I give the credit to the artists I have worked with, and the biggest credit goes to my CDRI, because while working at CDRI, I pursued science and theatre almost simultaneously. So, if I hadn't been at CDRI, perhaps I wouldn't be doing so much theatre, or films, or serials today..."
Anil Rastogi is one of the rare artists from Lucknow who has worked equally well in radio, television, theatre and cinema. In his long career, he has acted in over 70 films, 15 web series and more than 500 TV episodes. Recently, he also completed 100 stage performances.
Rastogi has been active in theatre for 64 years, radio for 54 years, television for 49 years and films for 39 years. Such a long and steady career is considered rare for any actor.