Bengali film superstar Prosenjit Chatterjee on Sunday said he would dedicate the honour of the Padma Shri award to his late mother, crediting her sacrifices for shaping his four-decade-long career in cinema.

Speaking to PTI, Chatterjee said he was watching his recently released Bengali film at Navina cinema when he received the news and shared it with the audience, who greeted the announcement with loud cheers.

“I will first dedicate the honour to my mother, who had sacrificed so much in her life to bring us up and paved my journey, which went on for four decades. I also share the honour with my family, my son Mishuk. But what I have become has been made possible because of my countless audiences,” he said.

Chatterjee said that after receiving the news, he spoke over the phone with his father, veteran actor Biswajit Chatterjee, who told him, “So you have got it. I am so proud of you”.

The actor also remembered his late friend, acclaimed filmmaker Rituparno Ghosh, crediting him for redefining his career. He said Ghosh was “instrumental in the birth of the Prosenjit Chatterjee in critically acclaimed arthouse genre realistic films”.

“This day I miss Rituparno a lot. He played an important role in shaping a part of my acting career,” he added.

Asked whether he felt the honour was long overdue, Chatterjee said, “I don't look at it in this way. See Soumitra Chatterjee had got honours at what stage of his career. There is no point in mulling over at what time but rather whether the government conferred this honour on me. I am thankful to the Union Ministry”.

Meanwhile, Chatterjee’s industry colleagues took to social media to congratulate the actor. “Super happy n proud of u. U deserve this,” wrote actor-MP Dev. “Congratulations Prosenjit Chatterjee for the Padmashree award, richly richly deserved,” wrote filmmaker Srijit Mukherji.