The first ANR award was presented to the evergreen hero of the silver screen, actor, producer and director Dev Anand at Jubilee Hall in Public Gardens on Saturday, January 14. Dr. YS Rajasekhar Reddy, Sushil Kumar Shinde, Priyaranjan Das Munshi, T. Subbirami Reddy, Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Venkat and Nagarjuna did the honours. The programme was compered by Dr. Mrinalini. The event started with a light music concert by Gangadhar.

The annual award was institued by the evergreen veteran actor of Telugu film industry, Akkineni Nageswara Rao, after his name to be given at national level to a distinguished individual for outstanding service and contribution to Indian cinema. "This is the least I could do to the field which moulded me from a zero to my present stature," the veteran mentioned. Dev Anand in his speech thanked the people of Andhra Pradesh for their love and affection.

Also present on the occasion were several film and political celebrities. Prominent among those present were Dr. C. Narayana Reddy, Gummadi Venkateswara Rao, TL Kantha Rao, MS Reddy, PV Ranga Rao, PV Rajeswara Rao, Sumanth, KL Narayana, K. Raghavendra Rao, Konda Krishnam Raju, S. Gopal Reddy, D. Suresh Babu, Kaikala Satyanarayana, Amala and Supriya.

Tailpiece: Both the sons of the veteran actor Dev Anand - Suniel Anand and Vishal Anand - graced the event.