Down with fever: Bachchan to skip National Film Awards ceremony
Bollywood veteran Amitabh Bachchan on Sunday revealed that he will not be able to attend the National Film Awards ceremony in Delhi on Monday (December 23). He said he is down with fever and is not allowed to travel. "Down with fever. Not allowed to travel. Will not be able to attend National Award tomorrow in Delhi. So unfortunate. My regrets," Bachchan tweeted.
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— Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) December 22, 2019
Down with fever .. ! Not allowed to travel .. will not be able to attend National Award tomorrow in Delhi .. so unfortunate .. my regrets ..
Notably, the 77-year-old megastar was set to be honored with the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2018 today at the said ceremony. The award for Bachchan was announced in September this year. The prize comprises a Golden Lotus medallion, a shawl, and Rs. 10L cash.
Notably, Bachchan has not been keeping well since some time. Recently, he was to attend the Kolkata International Film Festival, but had to cancel his visit due to health issues. He even shared an image of himself resting in a makeshift hospital bed at his home in Mumbai. In October too, he was hospitalized at Mumbai's Nanavati Hospital for a routine check-up.
In fact, in a cryptic blog post, Bachchan had hinted at his impending retirement. He had written, "Another new environ and another readjustment to room and its accoutrements... I must retire.. the head is thinking something else and the fingers another.. its a message (sic)."
But despite concerns over his health, Bachchan has been quite busy on the work front. He had recently wrapped up the 11th season of Sony TV's popular quiz show KBC. On the silver screen, he was last seen in Sujoy Ghosh's thriller Badla (2019). He will soon be seen in Ayan Mukerji's Brahmastra (Winter 2020), Nagraj Manjule's Jhund, and Shoojit Sircar's family-drama Gulabo Sitabo.
Meanwhile, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu will be presenting the National Film Awards to the winners (announced earlier) today at Delhi's Vigyan Bhawan. Reportedly, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar will also attend the ceremony.
