26 January,2009 03:14 PM IST | | PTI
Dedicating the Padmashri award to his fans, Actor Akshay Kumar today said it was an extremely wonderful and most "humbling honour."
"I cannot hide how overwhelmed and speechless I am, for this unexpected recognition of my work, my passion, but I must say that it's all because of the people, my audiences I am only here today because of them," Akshay said.
"I will cherish this as one of the most memorable moments in my life and my family's life. I really cannot express how touched I am," he said.
Describing his fans as his courage and strength, Akshay said he would continue to show his love to his fans as they made him the proud Indian that he is.
The actor's winning streak at the box office was recently stopped by the failure of "Chandni Chowk to China."
Over the years, Akshay, whose real name is Rajiv Bhatia, had transformed for an action star to an actor best suited for comedy roles with his films like "Namastey London", "Heyy Babyy", "Welcome", "Bhul Bhullaiya", "Singh is Kinng" earning nearly Rs 500 crore at the box office.
At a television awards function, where he received one for the best host of a reality show, the actor had lamented that he had bagged an award within a year of appearing on television while despite being in the film industry for 19 years, he did not get a single popular film award.
Recently, he was given the 'Best Actor Popular Choice Award' for "Singh is Kinng" at a recent awards function, but he dedicated the award to Aamir Khan for his performance in 'Ghajini' and left the stage without collecting the trophy.
