Bollywood actor Shashi Kapoor is to be given the next Dada Saheb Phalke Award, the highest honour in Indian cinema.

The 77-year-old belongs to the famous Kapoor family that has dominated India's Mumbai-based film industry, popularly known as Bollywood.

Kapoor has acted in more than 160 films in a career that has spanned nearly seven decades. He began his career as a child actor in the mid-1940s.

He has acted in several English language films including Heat And Dust and Bombay Talkie.

Kapoor was named yesterday as winner of the government award which is given for making an outstanding contribution to Indian cinema.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Kapoor and in a tweet described him as "a fine actor and a stalwart of the film industry".