Filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan of Kerala (on left) receives the Biswaratna Dr Bhupen Hazarika International Solidarity Award, 2015, from Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi and Asam Sahitya sabha president Dhrubajyoti Bora in Guwahati on Sunday. The Asam Sahitya Sabha presents the biennial award in association with Numaligarh Refinery Ltd. The recipient of the award is selected by a committee with the Sabha's president as its chairman and its general secretary as convener.

'In his fairly long and extremely fruitful life, Hazarika had achieved practically everything an Indian citizen could aspire to,' Gopalakrishnan said, while receiving the award.

'This is the second time I am visiting Assam to receive an award. The first time it was for the Kamal Kumari National Award in 2000. I recall the time I spent talking to Hazarika, a real icon of Assamese cinema and culture, at the function and thereafter,' he added. Text by a staff reporter; picture by UB Photos