Michael Douglas Gets Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award
Panaji, (IANS) – Acclaimed Hollywood actor-producer Michael Douglas was conferred with the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award during the closing ceremony of 54th International Film Festival of India (IFFI), here on November 28.
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Michael Douglas’s wife and award-winning actress Catherine Zeta Jones were present on the occasion, among others.
After receiving the award, Douglas termed Satyajit Ray as a world-class filmmaker.
“Cinema is one of the few mediums that have the power to unite and transform us. Today, the global language of cinema is more meaningful than ever. IFFI is a reminder of magic of filmmaking and cross-cultural artistic expressions, transcending time, language, and geographies,” he said.
In his distinguished career spanning over six decades, Douglas has been nominated for two Oscars and won both — as producer of the Best Picture winner ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), and as Best Actor for ‘Wall Street’ (1988).
Douglas also expressed his admiration for Indian cinema, saying ‘RRR’, ‘Om Shanti Om’ and ‘The Lunchbox’ are among his favorite Indian films.
Highlighting the role of movies in uniting the world, Douglas said that films share the same language and bring us closer together.
“The audience from all around the world can understand what is going on in movies. Movies create this international connection. This is the magic, beauty, and joy of this industry and that’s why I love this business very much,” he said.
He also said that it is a tremendous honor to receive the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award in Goa.
In a recollection of his college days, he candidly shared that he had studied the works of Satyajit Ray like ‘Pather Panchali’ and ‘Charulata’ in his film course and getting an award named after him is truly special.
“Ray’s pictures were so interesting… they portrayed reality. The greatness of Ray is that he was not only a director, but also a writer, film editor, musician, and all at the same time,” he reminisced.
iyer
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Hopefully Mr Douglas has seen movies besides Lunch Box and Om Shanthi Om; there are regional movies that are of equal caliber. There was a recent news article regarding his wife watching Lunchbox and OmShanthiOm on the plane, not sure if it was going towards India, so that would mean he watched these movies on the way to India and not being relaxed and watching for real understanding. Nevertheless, Mr Douglas is a fine artist and so are Irfan and Siddique on Lunch Box.
November 28, 2023JR
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Most awards are bought and paid for by agents and players of the industry. With Douglas having no connection to Indian cinema, it’s clear this award is no different.
November 29, 2023Qmind
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This award has absolutely no relevance or meaning to the Indian Cinema, not to mention total waste of money spent for their travel and expenses, that should have been given to regional artists and independent cinema. It’s obvious that he has not seen any Indian movie and the movies that he mentioned that he has seen or his wife has seen appears to be a more to appease the hosts than true viewing.
November 30, 2023