Amitabh Bachchan honoured with FIAF Award for 2021 by Martin Scorsese, Christopher Nolan

Amitabh Bachchan has become the first Indian to receive the prestigious FIAF Award for his efforts to preserve the legacy of film over the years. The veteran actor was lauded for his work by international directors Martin Scorsese and Christopher Nolan in an online event held on Friday.

The event was live-streamed on the YouTube channel of the Film Heritage Foundation and was presided over by International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF) secretary-general Michael Loebenstein and president Frederic Maire.

Previous honorees include Martin Scorsese, Christopher Nolan and Jean-Luc Godard. This year, filmmaker, film archivist and restorer Shivendra Singh Dungarpur nominated Bachchan for the award.

While presenting the honour, Scorsese, the first recipient of the award, said, “Safeguarding cinema is a global cause with champions all over the world and Amitabh Bachchan's advocacy for preserving India's film heritage, really has been exceptional.”

“I'm well aware of the time and effort that Amitabh has personally devoted to this cause. The FIAF could not have chosen a more deserving individual to recognise this year,” he said.

Another recipient, Nolan said it was an honour to present the award to Bachchan and it was a privilege to meet the star in 2018 in Mumbai. “[Film preservation] is unbelievably important work and your voice, your reputation behind this cause adds so much and makes so much more possible. For all these reasons, I just want to express my gratitude, and the gratitude of FIAF and everybody involved with this award, for everything you've done so far, and for everything that you will do in the future,” the director shared.

The actual award was presented by Dungarpur in Mumbai. Bachchan said he was deeply honoured to have received the award; he has been working with the foundation since 2015.

"I consider it a privilege to join an esteemed group of artistes around the entire world, working for the common cause of preserving our cinematic heritage,” the veteran actor said as he accepted the award. “As artistes, I believe we have a duty to preserve what we create. Our work represents a lifetime of passion and devotion to our craft. We need to ensure that we preserve this legacy in memory of all those who came before us.”

Bachchan will next be seen on the big screen in Rumy Jafry’s Chehre (2021) on 9 April.