MUMBAI : Chiranjeevi named Indian Film Personality of the Year

MUMBAI : Veteran actor Chiranjeevi was named the Indian Film Personality of the Year at the opening ceremony of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa on Sunday.
The announcement was made by Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur at the film festival. The actor, however, was not present to receive the award himself. Several other film personalities from across languages were honoured at the ceremony.
The 53rd edition of IFFI began in Goa on Sunday. Minister Anurag Thakur was joined by actors Varun Dhawan and Sara Ali Khan for the inauguration. Several other film personalities also graced the red carpet.
Taking to Twitter, Anurag Thakur wrote about Chiranjeevi’s honour: “Sh Chiranjeevi Ji has had an illustrious career spanning almost four decades, w/ over 150 films as an actor, dancer & producer.
He is immensely popular in Telugu Cinema w/ incredible performances touching hearts! In the 90s, he was regarded as the biggest star in India at one point. He has been seen in two films this year–Acharya and GodFather. The latter was a box office success, grossing over ₹100 crore.
Other honourees of the night included veteran writer K Vijayendra Prasad, as well as actors Paresh Rawal, Ajay Devgn, Suneil Shetty, and Manoj Bajpayee. All of them were felicitated with special honours at the opening ceremony of IFFI 2022.
While being honoured at the film festival, Ajay said, “I love making films. Be it acting or producing or directing, I love each and every aspect of films. Thank you all for all the love.”
The opening ceremony was hosted by actor Aparshakti Khurana. When Aparshakti asked Vijayendra Prasad, known for films like RRR, Baahubali, and Bajrangi Bhaijaan, about his inspiration behind his writings, the veteran writer named Mahatma Gandhi. After a few seconds, he took out Indian currency note and quipped saying, “I was talking about this Gandhiji.” His response evoked a loud laugh from the audience members.
Ahead of the ceremony, Anurag Thakur shared, “This year lots of premiers are happening here. Several new initiatives are taken. This time, 1,000 entries came for the 75 creative minds. 75 creative minds were chosen from 10 fields. People from remote areas also participated. 75 creative minds is for those who used to feel scared of coming to Mumbai, now their requirements are being bridged, and opportunities are being provided for all to be able to participate in the mainstream film industry.
This IFFI platform is not just for Mumbai film industry but for people from across the nation to come together and work together. Season premier of OTT platform show will also be happening.”
This year’s edition also features retrospectives on Dadasaheb Phalke awardee Asha Parekh and Spanish filmmaker Carlos Saura.