France Honours Thotta Tharini With Chevalier Award, Tamil Nadu Chief MK Stalin Shares Congratulatory Note

Padma

Shri awardee Thota Tharani has been conferred by the French government for with the prestigious Chevalier Award. With this, Thotta Tharani joins a list of Indian film personalities like Sivaji Ganesan, singer Balamuralikrishna, Kamal Haasan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, and Kalki Koechlin who had received the honour.

Thotta Tharini Conferred Chevalier Award, TN CM Stalin Congratulates Art Director

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin took to social media to extend his heartfelt congratulations to the veteran art director. Mentioning that his portrait of social reformer EV Ramasamy now adorns Oxford. “The French government’s announcement of the Chevalier award for Thiru Thota Tharani, who gifted us the portrait of Periyar that shines in Oxford, has doubled our joy,” the Chief Minister posted in Tamil.He further stated that the art director, an alumnus of the Government College of Fine Arts, Chennai, would now join an elite list of Indian icons who have previously received this honour. “He follows in the footsteps of greats such as Satyajit Ray, Sivaji Ganesan, Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, and Kamal Haasan. This is a moment of immense pride for Tamil Nadu and for the Indian art community,” Stalin added. He concluded his message by saying, “Congratulations on your achievement that the world admires!”

The French Ambassador will confer the Chevalier Award on Tharani at a ceremony to be held on November 13 at the Alliance Française of Madras, Chennai.

The art director has received numerous accolades, including two National Film Awards, two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, three Nandi Awards, and a Kerala State Film Award. He was also honoured with the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2001.He began his career with the Telugu film Sommokadidhi Sokokadidhi (1978). HIs first Tamil film was Kamal Haasan and Singeetam Srinivasa Rao’s Raja Paarvai (1981). Recently, he has worked on the films Ponniyin Selvan I and II, Kuberaa and Pawan Kalyan’s Hari Hara Veera Mallu.