Chennai, Nov 12 : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin was among the first to congratulate National Award winning Art director Thota Tharani for having been chosen by the French government for its prestigious Chevalier Award.

Taking to his X timeline, Chief Minister Stalin, in Tamil, wrote, " The announcement of the French government's high honour, the Chevalier award, for Thiru. Thota Tharani, who delighted us by gifting us a portrait of Thanthai Periyar which now shines in Oxford, has doubled our joy."

Stalin went on to point out that the great art director, who had studied at the Government College of Fine Arts in Tamil Nadu, was now set to join an illustrious line of great personalities from India who had received this award and that this was a matter of immense pride.

He ended the congratulatory post saying, "Congratulations on your achievement that the world admires!"

Thota Tharani will be receiving the award at the Alliance Française in Chennai from the French Ambassador on November 13.

The art director will be the sixth Indian to receive the prestigious award after legendary icons like Satyajit Ray, Sivaji Ganesan, Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and Kamal Haasan.

Thota Tharani, who has closely worked with top film directors Mani Ratnam and Shankar among others, has won two National Awards and a number of state awards including three Nandi Awards and four Tamil Nadu State Film Awards.

In 2001, the Government of India honoured the legendary art director by presenting him the Padma Shri Award for his contributions to art.

Thota Tharani, who began his illustrious career in 1978 with iconic director Singeetam Srinivasa Rao's Telugu film 'Sommokadidhi Sokokadidhi', has been a core part of several films hailed as cult classics, both in Tamil and Telugu. The legendary art director's work has played a crucial role in the success of several blockbusters.

Some of the films in which his work had come in for exceptional praise include director Mani Ratnam's cult classic, 'Nayakan', which featured actor Kamal Haasan in the lead, 'Ponniyin Selvan', the Rajinikanth, Mammootty-starrer 'Thalapathi', 'Sagara Sangamam', 'Geethanjali', 'Sivaji' and 'Dasavatharam'.

/IANS