Amitabh Bachchan felicitated at Mumbai film festival

Organisers of the 11th Mumbai Film Festival have given megastar Amitabh Bachchan a Lifetime Achievement award for completing 40 years in the entertainment industry.

Receiving the award from Bollywood actress Preity Zinta (pictured above), Bachchan on Thursday evening thanked the noted directors who recognised his talent and the Mumbai Academy of Moving Images (MAMI) for giving him the award.

"I am thankful to every director like Manmohan Desai and Yash Chopra who helped me pave my way to where I am today. I am also thankful to MAMI for this honour," said Big B.

His oeuvre ranges from rib-tickling comedies to tearjerkers to subtle, nuanced performances in art-house films. It can be said without doubt that there is nothing in acting that Bachchan hasn't tried.

"I have given almost two-thirds of my life to the Indian film industry. I remember in 1968 I had appeared for a screen test whose result never came out. Then in 1969 director Khwaja Ahmad Abbas gave me a break in his film 'Saat Hindustani' and my journey started," added Bachchan.

Veteran Bollywood actor Dev Anand's production house Navketan Films was felicitated for completing 60 years.

The prize distribution ceremony started with Mumbai Young Critics Jury Award, which was given to "Whisper With the Wind" directed by Sahram Alidi.

After a weeklong exposure to international cinema, 20 young critics viewed 27 movies from the two categories, International Competition and Above the Cut. After watching and re-watching the selected films, and with constant discussions, arguments and debates, "Whisper With the Wind" was finally selected.

In the category of Dimension Mumbai Competition, the Silver Gateway of India award was given to "Sagar Setu" directed by Chandni Arora and Archana Phadke.

Silver Gateway of India for the Second Best Film in Dimensions Mumbai-Short Film Competition was given to "Mumbai Lego" directed by Sahil Shah.

Bollywood director Yash Chopra and lyricist Prasoon Joshi awarded the Golden Gateway of India award to the director of "Dominic Murphy".

Danish actress Paprika Steen won the Silver Gateway of India award for the best actress for her performance in the film "Applause".

Greek director Theo Angelopoulos won the International Lifetime Achievement award. His film "The Dust of Time" closed the fest.

The audience choice award went to Amit Rai's "Road to Sangam".

Indo-Asian News Service