Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan to be honoured at Locarno Film Festival
Superstar Shah Rukh Khan will be felicitated with the lifetime achievement award, the Pardo alla Carriera at the 2024 Locarno Film Festival. On Tuesday, the organisers of the festival shared this update. The award will pay tribute to SRK's remarkable contribution to Indian cinema.
Speaking about the honour, Giona A Nazzaro, artistic director in a statement said, "To welcome a living legend like Shah Rukh Khan to Locarno is a dream come true! The wealth and breadth of his contribution to Indian cinema is unprecedented. Khan is a king who has never lost touch with the audience that crowned him."
"This brave and daring artist has always been willing to challenge himself while remaining true to what his fans all over the world eagerly expect from his films. A true 'people's hero', sophisticated and down to earth, Shah Rukh Khan is a legend of our times," he added.
Shah Rukh will receive the award on 10 August at the open-air venue Piazza Grande. One of his most iconic films, Devdas, directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, will also be screened during the festival. Shah Rukh is all set to appear at the Forum @Spazio Cinema for a conversation on 11 August.
Previous recipients of Locarno's Honorary Leopard include Tsai Ming-liang, Francesco Rosi, Claudia Cardinale, Johnnie To, Harry Belafonte, Mario Adorf, Jane Birkin, and Costa-Gavras.
The award comes on the heels of SRK's highly successful 2023, which saw the release of his three blockbusters Pathaan, Jawan and Dunki, all of which were huge hits.
The actor will reportedly begin shooting for his upcoming film 'King.' Recently, a video of SRK was widely shared on social media where eagle-eyed fans noticed the film's script lying on the table beside him. Reportedly, the film is also set to star Shah Rukh's daughter and actor, Suhana.
The video happened to be from a clip of Shah Rukh congratulating cinematographer Santosh Sivan after he received the prestigious Pierre Angenieux Excel Lens Award at this year's Cannes Film Festival.
In the aforementioned video, a section of the Internet spotted the script of 'King' on the table next to him. It also contained some additional details on its cover, which were not clearly visible in the video. If reports are to be believed, 'King' will be directed by Sujoy Ghosh.