Often termed as the first megastar of Hindi cinema, actor turned politician Rajesh Khanna will be honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the IIFA Weekend, which will be held at The Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel from June 11 to 13, 2009 in Macau. Earlier Indian cinema’s living legends such as Mumtaz and Dharmendra have been the receivers of this prestigious Award. Each year, IIFA 2009 honours a member of the Indian Film Fraternity with the Lifetime Achievement Award who has made immeasurable contributions to Indian cinema, our sources reveal, keeping this in mind, the IIFA Advisory Board and the IIFA Management have zeroed down on Rajesh Khanna’s name for the tenth IIFA to be held at Macao.

Rajesh Khanna’s rise to stardom is considered extraordinary. One can recollect, from 1969 to 1972, the Rajesh Khanna phenomenon swept Indian cinema off its feet and the hysteria he generated was unlike anything seen before! Rajesh Khanna made his Bollywood debut with the 1966 film Aakhri Khat, followed by Raaz and Baharon Ke Sapne. But his act in movies like Aurat, Khamoshi and Aradhana cemented his status as the new super talent par excellence in the Indian film industry.

In 1983, Rajesh Khanna displayed a spectacular performance with his role in Avtaar. After establishing his superstar status, blockbuster films followed one after another, and women all over the country swooned over him and the men aped him.

Kaka as he is popularly known as, is still adored and fondly remembered by the masses and songs from his popular movies are still loved. The previous recipients of this award were Lata Mangeshkar (2000), Waheeda Rehman (2001), Yash Chopra (2002), Dev Anand (2003), Yash Johar (2004), V.K. Murthy (2005), Asha Parekh (2006), Dharmendra (2007) and Mumtaz (2008).