Akshay Kumar is ‘truly humbled’ on winning National Award for Best Actor

Akshay Kumar was named Best Actor for Rustom, many of his friends and fans questioned why there was no mention of Airlift, his other film from 2016 that was far more appreciated by critics and the audience alike.

Soon after, filmmaker Priyadarshan, who headed the jury in the feature films category, reportedly told a multi-platform news company that Akshay’s win was for both films but only Rustom was mentioned in the awards’ list due to “technical reasons”.

Thanking friends and fans in a video, Akshay said, “Thank you is a small word, but I don’t know how else to express myself. I am truly humbled by this honour. I would like to thank the jury and all fans from the core of my heart for believing in my talent. Rustom was a special role. Apne desh ke Navy ki uniform pehen paana apne aap mein hi special baat hai. National Award ne usko aur bhi special bana diya hai. I dedicate this award to my parents and my lovely family, especially my wife (Twinkle Khanna), who keeps saying, ‘Achha hua award functions main jaana chhod diya; kabhi kuch milta toh hai nahi. Khair, der aaye durust aaye, kuch toh aaye’.”