PM remembers Raj Kapoor, Mohd Rafi, ANR, Tapan Sinha in 2024's last Mann Ki Baat address

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday remembered the four icons of Indian cinema Raj Kapoor, Mohammed Rafi, Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Tapan Sinha in their birth centenary year in his last Mann Ki Baat address of 2024.

Speaking in his monthly radio broadcast, the prime minister said: "In 2024, we are celebrating the birth centenary of several film personalities who were instrumental in bringing global recognition to the country... The lives of these personalities is a source of inspiration for our film industry."

"Through his films, Raj Kapoor ji made the world aware of India's soft power," Modi said.

Mohd Rafi's magical voice would touch the heart of every listener, added the prime minister.

"He had an incredible voice. Be it devotional songs, romantic songs or sad songs, he made every emotion come alive with his voice. The fact that the youth of today also listens to his songs with the same passion is a testament to his greatness as an artist. This is the true meaning of timeless art," he said about the singer.

Modi praised ANR for taking Telugu cinema to "newer heights".

"His films beautifully depicted Indian traditions and values."

"Tapan Sinha ji's films gave a new vision to society. His films conveyed the message of social consciousness and national unity," Modi added in the monthly broadcast.

The birth centenaries of Kapoor, the showman of the Hindi film industry, and Rafi, one of the greatest playback singers in Indian cinema who could paint a rainbow of emotions with his voice, were commemorated recently on December 14 and December 24, respectively.

Akkineni Nageswara Rao, better known as ANR, was one of the most prominent figures in the Telugu industry who in his seven-decade career starred in numerous landmark films. His 100th birth anniversary was marked on September 20.

Sinha, one of the most prominent Bengali cinema directors in the 1970s and 1980s forming a quartet with Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak and Mrinal Sen, would have turned 100 on October 2.