S.K. Padmadevi, the only surviving actor from the first-ever Kannada talkie to be mounted for production, was on Thursday awarded the R. Nagendra Rao award instituted by the Karnataka Chalanchitra Academy. The award includes Rs. 50,000 cash and a citation.

Several other important personalities in the cinema field were honoured on the occasion. They include director Joe Simon, producer H.N. Muddukrishna, music composer Ratnam, lyricist B.A. Madhu, cinematographer B.S. Basavaraju, exhibitor Babji, technician Armugam, actor Jai Jagadish and film-maker Richerd Castelleno, who were bestowed with the B.R. Panthulu, D. Shankar Singh, G.V. Iyer, Hunsur Krishnamurthy, B.S. Ranga, B. Jayamma, M.P. Shankar, Tugudeepa Srinivas and K.N. Taylor awards, respectively.

March 3 is an important day in the 80-decade-old history of Kannada cinema. Y.V. Rao’s Sati Sulochana, the first Kannada talkie film, was released on that day at Paramout theatre. The day will be celebrated as ‘Kannada Cinema Day’ by the academy.