Actor Kamal Haasan chosen for France's Chevalier Award

Actor Kamal Haasan has been chosen for the coveted French honour of Chevalier Award.

"Kamal Haasan has been appointed Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts Arts et Lettres (Knight in the National Order Arts and Letters) by the Minister of Culture and Communication, France," his spokesperson said here today.

"The award will be conferred on the 61-year-old veteran star at a special ceremony," he added.

Haasan is the second Tamil star after thespian Sivaji Ganesan to be honoured with the French award, with the latter being chosen for it in 1995.

The Tamil Cinema industry was all praise for the "Vishwaroopam" star. Actors Nasser, Karthi and Prasanna, directors KS Ravikumar, Lingusamy and Venkat Prabu among others congratulated him.

Having made his debut as a child actor in 1959 in the Gemini Ganesan-starrer "Kalathur Kannamma," Haasan rose to become one of the icons of Indian cinema.

Hailed as a multi-faceted professional, the actor-filmmaker is known for his penchant for experimenting with different scripts and characters.

His roles as an ageing freedom fighter in the movie "Indian" and a woman in "Avvai Shanmugi," besides donning ten diverse roles in the 2008-hit "Dasavatharam," have been well received by the movie-goers.