Malayalam superstar Mohanlal was conferred with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India’s highest cinematic honour, by President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday, earning a standing ovation from the audience.
In his speech, Mohanlal expressed humility and pride, saying, “As a representative of the Malayalam film industry, I am deeply humbled to be the youngest recipient and only the second ever from the state to be bestowed with this national recognition.”

Now this speech has started a debate on social media who are questioning whether the actor is really the youngest recipient and the only the second ever from Kerala to bag the award and also regarding whether the poetic verse which he recited was from ' Veena Poovu '.
Mohanlal's poetry recitation draws attention
During the ceremony, Mohanlal recited lines he attributed to Kumaran Asan’s Veena Poovu: “Chithayil aazhnu poyathumallo, chitha manoharamaya poovith” (“This flower did not merely fall into the dust. It lived a life of beauty”).
However, scholars and social media users have questioned the authenticity of these lines. They have noted that they do not appear in Asan’s original work. Some suggested they may belong to poets such as P. Bhaskaran or Changampuzha, with possibilities including Bhaskaran’s ' Orkkuka Vallapozhum '. There is also a similar quote by Ayyappapanickar which reads, "ചിരകാലമങ്ങനെ ചിതല്‍ തിന്നു പോയിട്ടും ചിലതുണ്ട് ചിതയില്‍ വെക്കുവാന്‍…(Even though so much time has passed and much has been consumed by the cremation fire, there are still some things left to place on the pyre.)"

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One Twitter user commented in favour of the superstar, "Tough situation for a legend on his big day. Even the best of us can get caught out by a misattributed quote going around online. The honor is still well-deserved."
Mohanlal's youngest winner claim
As reported by The New Indian Express, Mohanlal is the second recipient of the prestigious award from Mollywood after the iconic director Adoor Gopalakrishnan, but the 'Drishyam' actor's claim on being the youngest winner doesn't hold true. Adoor was indeed younger than Mohanlal when he received Dadasaheb Phalke Award in the year 2004. Lata Mangeshkar received the prestigious award at the age of 60 and Raj Kapoor bagged the award at the age of 63.
Everything being said, Mohanlal's Dadasaheb Phalke win is truly a honor to the Malayalam film industry and he is a true legend of the Indian cinema.