Mohanlal has taken filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma’s cheeky congratulatory post in good humour after being named the recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award 2023. The Satya director, never one to hold back on social media, wrote:“I don’t know much about #DadasahebPhalke except that he’s made the 1st ever film, which I dint see and I never met anyone who saw it, but from what I saw and know of @Mohanlal, I think Dadasaheb Phalke should be given the MOHANLAL AWARD 💐🔥💪.”

Asked about the comment, Mohanlal, speaking at a press conference in Kochi on Sunday, chuckled it off: “He is someone who cracks jokes all the time. I see it as black humour. I share a great friendship with him and had the chance to act in one of his cult films, Company. It is just that he chose to react differently from others.”

Mohanlal and Ram Gopal Varma first collaborated on the acclaimed 2002 crime drama Company, where Mohanlal’s turn as Commissioner Sreenivasan won wide acclaim, and later in the 2007 film Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag, co-starring Amitabh Bachchan.

The filmmaker’s quirky tribute adds to the wave of celebratory messages pouring in for Mohanlal, who becomes only the second person from Kerala to receive the country’s highest award in cinema after Adoor Gopalakrishnan. The award will be formally presented at the 71st National Film Awards ceremony in New Delhi on September 23.