Amitabh Bachchan to be honoured with 2021 FIAF Award

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The shahenshah of Bollywood  Amitabh Bachchan will be recognised for all the work he has done to preserve the film industry along with his contribution. The veteran actor will be the first Indian cinema personality to be the recipient of the FIAF Award, given each year by the International Federation of Film Archives. The FIAF is a worldwide organisation, comprising film archives and museums from across the world.

Hollywood filmmakers and previous recipients of the FIAF Award, Martin Scorcese and Christopher Nolan, who share a long-standing relationship with the FIAF will present the award to BigB during a virtual showcase scheduled to take place on March 19. Both of them praised Bachchan and his contribution to the cause. He will get this for his dedication and contribution to the preservation of the world’s film heritage.

“This year FIAF celebrates the twentieth anniversary of its annual award. To mark this momentous occasion, there could be no better recipient than one of the world’s greatest movie stars, and one who has understood, embraced, and publicized the cause of film preservation for years,” Frederic Maire, President of FIAF, said in a statement.

“By presenting our prestigious FIAF Award to Amitabh Bachchan, we want to show the world how rich and diverse, but also how fragile, this unique film heritage is, and we want to publicly thank Bachchan for his role as a high-profile advocate for the rescue of this heritage, in India and beyond,” he added.

Amitabh  Bachchan was also excited about getting recognised with the award, saying that he was honoured to receive the award for a cause he is “deeply committed”. His name was nominated by the FIAF affiliate Film Heritage Foundation.

India’s record in film preservation has been dismal as the country lost almost 70% of its films. “Recognising the urgency of the situation, I have been working closely with Film Heritage Foundation since its inception to do everything in our power to save our films and to build a movement for film preservation in our part of the world,” the 78-year-old actor. He further stressed that it is important that the idea of film archiving is strengthening and promoted in India.

Amitabh was last seen in Shoojit Sircar’s Gulabo Sitabo with Ayushmann Khurrana. He will next be seen in Rumy Jafry’s Chehre with Emraan Hashmi. The actor also has Brahmastra with Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor and Mayday with Ajay Devgn.