Rajamouli, the proud recipient of the ANR National Award, said on Sunday's event that he felt awed by the honour.

He began his speech thanking KCR for making Telugu-learning compulsory till 12th Standard.

It's when he spoke about late ANR's willpower that his speech was really glorious. "It was in 1974 that Nageshwar Rao garu had a heart attack. The doctors treated him and told him that he won't have another attack for the next 14 years. As they said, nothing happened to his heart till 1988. But when he had an attack for the second time that year, the doctors couldn't perform a surgery as his heart was too weak. It was then that ANR garu said to himself that he will survive another 14 years with his sheer willpower. Since then his car number was 2002. This way he dared death to extinguish him. He was a living example of how mental strength can defeat even death. ANR lives on," Rajamouli said.

"In the era of Mahabharatham, it was Bhishma who spoke to death. In Kali Yuga, it's only ANR who did that," the 'Baahubali' director said.