Eminent filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan could not believe he had been chosen for the 2004 Dadasaheb Phalke award, but disbelief gave way to jubilation as calls poured in.

"Are you sure I have been selected? Because sometime back I received a call from the information and broadcasting ministry asking me if I would accept this award if I was nominated for it," the veteran filmmaker told.

"Then I did not hear anything for a long time."

The multi-award winning director was named Monday for the country's highest honour in the field of cinema.

Gradually coming to terms with the great honour, Adoor, 64, said it was a "pleasant surprise" because he considered himself too young for it.

"I am too young to get this award and it is too early in my life to get this. I am really happy", he commented.

In a career spanning 33 years, Adoor has directed nine feature films beginning with "Swayamvaram" released in 1972, which pioneered the new cinema movement in Kerala.