It was only in the year 2003, when the NDA government came to power, the legendary actor’s name was brought to the selection panel, on the insistence of the then prime minister Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the Deputy PM, Mr. Lal kishen Advani.

By this time many of his contemporaries has made to the elite list of winners of the Dadasaheb Phalke award , that comprises of Rajkapoor in the year 1987, Ashok Kumar in the year 1988, and Dilip Kumar in the year 1994.
The then information and broadcasting minister Mr. Ravi Shankar Prasad was instrumental in pushing DevAnand’s name into selection panel.

The veteran actor’s name was eventually considered in the year 2003. Said Mr. Prasad, that both Vajpayee and Advani thought the Phalke award was long overdue for Dev Anand. For some unknown baffling reason, his name was considered, which our government felt was totally unfair.

After a lapse of several years, the legendary actor never thought, that he will be honored with the prestigious award. When Prasad called on Mr.Dev Anand to tell him about the decision to bestow the Dadasaheb Pahlke award, the response the minister got from the other end was a long pause, later there was a small laugh with that followed with an expression of gratitude. The Minister said that the veteran actor felt happy when he conveyed the new to him, however there seems to be an underlying emotion, that the award has been bestowed after a lapse of many years.