Pune: Veteran filmmaker Ramesh Sippy, singer-composer SP Balasubrahmanyam, Ramesh Prasad, film producer, chairman and head of Prasad Studios, and Raj Dutt, well-known Marathi director, will be felicitated at the upcoming Pune International Film Festival.
Sippy, known for directing blockbuster films like Saagar, Shakti, Shaan, Sholay, Seeta Aur Geeta and others; Dutt, known for directing films like Sarja, Mumbaicha Fauzdar, Are Sansar Sansar, Ashta Vinayak; and Prasad, will be felicitated with the PIFF Distinguished Award for their contribution to Indian cinema. Balasubrahmanyam will receive the SD Burman International Award for Creative Sound and Music. While Sippy, Prasad and Balasubrahmanyam will be felicitated at the opening ceremony of the festival on January 11, Dutt will be felicitated on January 18, the closing day.
While making the announcement on Monday, Dr Jabbar Patel, Festival Director said, “Ramesh Sippy is a part of the film industry in a big way. His father GP Sippy made many memorable films. He was a fiery man, who met politicians and fought for the rights of filmmakers.”
He added that Ramesh Prasad’s contribution to the industry is humongous, as he realised long ago that 35 MM will become redundant and cinema will turn towards digitalisation, not just while screening but filming too.
“SP Balasubrahmanyam is part of the Guinness World Records for singing the highest number of songs. He has sung around 40,000 songs in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Hindi,” he said.
The opening ceremony will be followed by the screening of Alen Drljevic’s award-winning film Men Don’t Cry (Bosnia), which is about the after-effects of the Yugoslav wars.
Patel, along with Srinivasa Santhanam, Programme Director, PIFF, and Abhijeet Randive, Creative Head & Selection Committee Member, PIFF, also showcased the new trophy. “It’s of international standard and lighter to handle,” explained Patel.
