12th Mumbai Film Festival ends

MUMBAI - The 12th Mumbai Film Festival, organized by the Mumbai Academy of Moving Images, ended with a gala closing ceremony.

The eight-day-long film festival showcased over 600 films from across the world.

On Thursday, many film celebrities participated in the closing ceremony.

Veteran Bollywood actor and director Manoj Kumar as well as Hollywood director Oliver Stone were honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Awards for their contributions to cinema.

Bollywood director Ashutosh Gowariker said that Manoj Kumar, who won fame for his patriotic-themed films, deserved the honour.

“I would like to say that I am very proud to be a part of the Mumbai Academy of Moving Images (MAMI) film festival. This year, the growth from last year has been tremendous. We have had 215 films, which I think is a huge achievement,” said Gowariker.

“I am very proud of the collection of movies that we have had, including the Japanese collection, and who could have been more befitting today than Mr. Manoj Kumar to win the Lifetime Achievement Award? He is someone who is a legend in his own right and he has won too many awards,” he added.

Stone said that he was very happy to be a part of the film festival and was grateful to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award.

“It’s a treat to be here. I have been here three days and I love the environment, the culture. I like the people, the food, and I love movies. So, it is a great time that I have had,” said Stone.

Director Vidhu Vinod Chopra presented the award to Kumar.

“It’s a great privilege and I am here to give him (Manoj Kumar) this Lifetime Achievement Award and I feel very privileged that I am going to do that. As you can see, I am well dressed for the occasion,” said Chopra.

The grand ceremony came to an end with the screening of Robert Schwentke’s film ‘Red’ By Shaikh Sharik (ANI)