BENGALURU: Veteran actress Shabana Azmi was chosen for the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 16th edition of Bengaluru International Film Festival (BIFFes), which concluded on Saturday. Mikka Bannada Hakki won the best Kannada film award.
As Shabana was unable to attend the event, noted theatre personality Arundathi Nag received the award on her behalf from Labour Minister Santosh Lad and Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy Chairman Sadhu Kokila.
Arundathi Nag thanked the organisers and the jury members on behalf of Shabana and said, “Shabana is a great actress, who has brought pride to the country. She has always spoken the truth — truth to power. Not only should cinema speak truth to power, but we as human beings must also do the same. Shabana has been a role model for me since my childhood, and I am grateful for her, who is a woman of substance.”
Sadhu Kokila said the festival saw over a 30% increase in viewers compared to last year. Overall, 52,000 people attended the screenings. He added that last year, 2,000 people had registered for the festival, while this year, 4,317 registered.
Poorly organised
The valedictory of the film festival was poorly organised as invitees and over 15 foreign delegates struggled to find seats. Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy Chairman Sadhu Kokila had to request seated attendees to offer seats to foreign guests.
Even the director of a film that won the award at BIFFes had to stand for a while as he could not find a seat. The valedictory lacked proper representation from the Kannada film industry. An invitee said, “It is an international film festival, and organisers should have been aware of the number of attendees and planned the seating accordingly.”