Vadodara: Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan was Tuesday awarded the third Sayaji Ratna Award, established in the memory of erstwhile Baroda ruler Sayajirao Gaekwad III.

The Baroda Management Association had, in 2013, instituted the award to mark the 150th birth anniversary of the ruler, known for undertaking major social reform measures during his rule in the early twentieth century.

Infosys co founder N R Narayana Murthy and noted industrialist Ratan Tata have been given the award earlier.

Talking at a lunch ceremony organised at the banquet hall of the Laxmi Vilas Palace, Bachchan revealed that he had paid off the loans of several farmers from Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.

He said he helped 1,398 farmers from Uttar Pradesh and 350 from Maharashtra, adding that such actions generate inner peace.

Bachchan paid rich tributes to late Sayajirao Gaekwad III for his contribution to the erstwhile princely state ofBaroda.

In a message to the youth, he asked them to respect their parents, whose blessings are vital in achieving goals, and not send them to old-age homes and desert them.