A salute to a century of Indian cinema

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Prominent personalities from the film fraternity were among those honoured as ‘People of the Year 2013’ at an event held recently at the FICCI auditorium in the capital. Veteran actress Shabana Azmi, cinematographer Santosh Sivan, actor-director-choreographer Prabhu Deva, Assamese filmmaker Jahnu Barua, wildlife photographer and documentary filmmaker Mike Pandey and film editor Sreekar Prasad were among those awarded. Minister of Information and Broadcasting Manish Tewari, the chief guest for the event, gave away the honours.
Shabana, who looked elegant in a rust silk sari said, “I have often thought of what my life would be if I wasn’t doing cinema. Indian cinema completing a 100 years is a landmark and I am but a small part of it. Limca Book of Records has joined in with us in celebrating this achievement and I am thankful to them for giving me this honour.”
Among others named for the honour was an interesting mix of veterans and rising stars of B-town including Naseeruddin Shah, Ranbir Kapoor, Gulzar, Mani Ratnam, Mira Nair, Aparna Sen and Vidya Balan.
While Prabhu Deva enthralled the audience with his dance moves, documentary filmmamker and Green Oscar winner Mike Pandey spoke about the need to have a documentary channel in the country. Prabhu Deva said, “It is an absolute honour to be sharing the pedestal with my role models, some of the greatest names in Indian cinema.”
Sreekar Prasad, who has edited over 500 films in more than 15 languages, dedicated the honour to all the editors of Indian film industry.
Filmmaker Jahnu Barua, who is currently working on Har Pal, said that filmmaking needs to be looked at not just as a business, but a mission to safeguard the cause of humanity.
“Filmmaking is like a nuclear power. If used properly, it can immensely help mankind. And if misused, it can destroy many minds,” said Barua.
Bollywood heartthrob Ranbir Kapoor was thrilled to share this honour with some of the greatest names from the industry. He shared, “These celebrations commemorate the remarkable journey of Indian cinema from the first film created in 1913. My great grandfather, Prithviraj Kapoor, was part of these pioneering years of cinema and I am honoured to follow in his footsteps.”
Another luminary of Indian cinema actress Tabu said, “According to me, the real box office king or queen is a good film and a good script. I am glad to have been chosen for this recognition out of so many talented artists over so many years of Indian cinema.”