MUMBAI: Veteran singer Manna Dey was today named as the recipient of the country's highest honour in cinema, Dadasaheb Phalke Award, for the year 2007.

The award was announced by the Information & Broadcasting Ministry in recognition of Dey's contribution to film and classical music spanning more than five decades.

The award has been named after DG Phalke, who made the country's first indigenous feature film Raja Harishchandra in 1913 and is, therefore, known as the "Father of Indian Cinema".

The award announcement for 2007 has been delayed in view of a court case pending in the Delhi High Court relating to the National Film Awards on which the judgment had come early this year.

Prabodh Chandra Dey, born on 1 May 1919 and better known by his nickname Manna Dey, is one of the greatest playback singers in Hindi and Bengali films. Along with Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar and Mukesh he dominated Indian film playback music from the 1950s to the 1970s. He has recorded more than 3500 songs over the course of his career.