Thaindian News

Mumbai, Dec.8 (ANI): Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan was conferred with the Asian Film Cultural Award in recognition to his four decades of contribution to the Indian cinema and for taking it to great heights around the world.

The award was presented by Kiran Shantaram, Chairman of Asian Film Foundation while noted Bollywood filmmaker Ramesh Sippy felicitated Bachchan at the gala ceremony organised here on Monday.

“I look upon my career of 40 years in this wonderful industry as great opportunity to be able to represent my creativity and my art if it can be called that, but more importantly to project our cinema to other parts of the world and I feel very honoured to be here for an organisation that conducts these activities in order that rest of the world comes to learn more about our culture, our films and for us to learn a little about their as well,” said Amitabh Bachchan in his thanks giving speech.

Born on October 11, 1942, Amitabh Bachchan first gained popularity in the early 1970s as the ‘angry young man’ of Hindi cinema, and since then he has never looked back.

He is one of the most prominent figures in the history of Indian cinema.

Amitabh Bachchan, fondly addressed as the Big B has won numerous awards including three National Film Awards and a dozen Filmfare Awards, reckoned as Indian Oscar honours.

He holds the record for most number of Best Actor nominations at the Filmfare Awards.

Bachchan said India has the potential of becoming the largest export earner through its celluloid productions.

“I have always been motivated by the fact that if the United States of America can claim to be through their cinema, the second largest export earner for itself after aeroplanes then why can’t India which produces the largest number of films in the world be anywhere near that figure. And I do believe that we have the potential and the talent to proceed in a direction where we can achieve this,” noted Amitabh Bachchan.

Bachchan, on this occasion, highlighted the Indian cinema as an integrating force.

“When we buy tickets to go to see a film we never ask whether the person sitting next to me is a Hindu or a Muslim or Sikh or a Christian, but we laugh at the same jokes, we sing the same song, we cry the same emotions. I think that perhaps this cinema house is the greatest example of integration that you can find anywhere in the world or indeed anywhere in the country,” said Amitabh Bachchan.

The Asian Film Festival which projects films from Asian countries aims to link all the fraternities of Asian film fraternities and promote their cinemas. (ANI)