Hema Malini, Prasoon Joshi chosen as Indian Film Personality 2021, to be honoured at IFFI

Anurag Thankur said Hema Malini's and Joshi's contributions to the field of Indian cinema spreads over decades

Actress-turned-MP Hema Malini and Central Board of Film Certification Prasoon Joshi, a well-known lyricist, were on Thursday chosen as Indian Film Personality of the Year 2021 and will be honoured at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa starting Saturday.

Announcing the awards, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said Hema Malini's and Joshi's contributions to the field of Indian cinema spreads over decades and their body of work has enthralled audiences across generations.

"They are Indian cinematic icons who are admired and respected the world over," he said.

The 73-year-old actress, known as the 'Dream Girl', is a two-time BJP MP and had made her debut in films in 1963 with Tamil film Idhu Sathiyam. A trained Bharatanatyam dancer, she entered Bollywood in 1968 through the film Sapno Ka Saudagar and later acted in over 150 films like Sholay, Seeta Aur Geeta, Satte pe Satta and Baghban among others.

She was also a nominated MP in Rajya Sabha between 2003 and 2009.

A Padma Shri winner, Joshi is a poet, writer, lyricist, screenwriter and communication specialist and currently the chairman Asia and CEO of McCann World Group India.

He published his first book of prose and poetry at the age of 17 and entered Bollywood as a lyricist in 2001 with Rajkumar Santoshi’s Lajja. He has penned lyrics for films like Taare Zameen Par, Rang De Basanti, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, Neerja and Manikarnika and Delhi-6 among othes.

At the festival, organisers said, 55 films from across the world will be showcased under the World Panorama Section. The films include 1000 Dreams (Director: Marat Sarulu), A Film About Couples (Natalia Cabral, Oriol Estrada), A Higher Law (Octav Chelaru) and Absence (Ali Mosaffa).

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