Mumbai: The timeless poster boy of Bollywood Shashi Kapoor, despite his frail health, attended the closing ceremony of the sixth Jagran Film Festival here to receive a Lifetime Achievement honour. Industry members lauded his contribution to Indian cinema, and said it is well-deserved.
The legendary actor, who was earlier this year decorated with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, was bestowed with the Lifetime Achievement honour by celebrated director Shyam Benegal here on Sunday night.
Shashi Kapoor, 77, is best known for his nuanced performance in memorable films like "Satyam Shivam Sundaram", "Trishul", "Kabhi Kabhie", "Vijeta" and "Kalyug", and despite his ill health he was present at the ceremony to receive the award. He has been wheelchair bound for some years now.
Director Sudhir Mishra feels that no honour can match up to Shashi Kapoor's achievements, and it is because of his relentless work in offbeat cinema that the current Indian filmmakers "still hold the wish to make something different".
"He is the most deserving for this award. Any award or recognition is less than his achievements," said Mishra, who is known for "Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi" and "Inkaar".
Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui says the younger lot of Bollywood takes a bow to Shashi Kapoor's body of work. He said: "He did a lot of commercial films but his preferred films were offbeat ones which he produced and encouraged. His contribution is enormous in Indian cinema".
A bevy of other tinsel town stars like Madhur Bhandarkar, Udit Narayan, Kunal Kapoor, Gulshan Grover, Amy Jackson, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Sanjay Mishra, Neeraj Ghaywan and Swara Bhaskar came together for the event.
Actress Bhumi Pednekar got the Best Actress award for her debut film "Dum Laga Ke Haisha", Bengali actor Dulal Sarkar and filmmaker Shoojit Sircar were honoured for bringing in a wave of change in the Indian film industry with their skills.
Dulal clinched the Best Actor (Male) award for an outstanding performance in Bengali film "Chotoder Chobi". And Shoojit took home Best Director award for the second consecutive year for his simple yet enduring story in "Piku", read a statement.
Veteran make-up artiste Pandhari Juker was also ennobled for his magical make-up strokes that have beautified many Indian actresses over the last six decades with an Outstanding Contribution to Indian Cinema title.
After garnering plaudits internationally, "Masaan" director Neeraj Ghaywan was honoured as the Best Debut Director.
The creators of the sounds and rhythms which dominate the audience's heart were also appreciated. Jyoti Nooran won the Best Singer Female Award for her melodious renditions in "Tanu Weds Manu Returns' and Sukhwinder Singh's musical notes in "Haider" bagged him the Best Singer Male Award.
The winning spree for "Haider" continued with Tabu clinching the Best Female Supporting Actor title for her power-packed portrayal. Sanjay Mishra won the Best Male Supporting Actor award for "Masaan".
Atul Kulkarni-starrer Marathi film "Rajwade And Sons", which hinges on the bond shared within a family, brought the curtains down on the sixth edition of the film fest. And the organisers promised to be back next year with more dose of entertainment, excellence and encouragement.
The 2015 edition of Jagran Film Festival traversed from Delhi to Kanpur, Lucknow, Allahabad, Varanasi, Agra, Meerut, Dehradun, Hisar, Ludhiana, Patna, Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Raipur, Indore, and Bhopal before culminating in Mumbai.