Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan is to be awarded France’s highest civilian honour, the Legion d’honneur.
The star, 64, was being honoured for his “contribution to Indian and international culture”, said a French embassy spokesman in New Delhi.
Bachchan’s career spans almost 40 years and more than 140 movies. He topped a 1999 BBC News website poll to find the greatest star of stage or screen.
Ambassador Dominique Girard is to present the award at a later date.
The son of a Hindi poet, Bachchan moved to Mumbai (Bombay) in pursuit of a film career after quitting his job as a freight broker in Calcutta.
The actor made his name in the 1970s and 1980s as a film action hero.
In 2000, he became the first Bollywood star to have a waxwork at Madame Tussaud’s museum in London.
He is also India’s biggest television star, presenting a popular hour-long show modelled on the UK game show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?.
BBC
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