Mohanlal addressed everyone after receiving the Dadasaheb Phalke Award. He said, "It is with profound pride and gratitude that I stand before you today, having received the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award, an honour instituted by the Government of India in the name of the Father of Indian Cinema. 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. This moment is not mine alone, it belongs to the entire Malayalam film fraternity.