Shah Rukh Khan to be honoured with career achievement award at Locarno Film Festival

The festival site announced Shah Rukh Khan as the recipient of this year's award, and called him the ‘living symbol' for showing the vitality of Indian cinema.

Shah Rukh Khan is set to be awarded with the Locarno Film Festival’s career achievement award, which is the prestigious Pardo alla Carriera. The Festival site announced on Tuesday that the award will celebrate the Bollywood superstar's ‘remarkable career in Indian cinema’. (Also read: Tabu reveals getting 'very expensive gifts' from Shah Rukh Khan for her cameo in Om Shanti Om song Deewangi Deewangi)

Shah Rukh Khan will be honoured by Locarno Film Festival in August.

The statement from the festival team

Shah Rukh will receive the award on August 10 at the open-air venue Piazza Grande. One of his most-celebrated film, Devdas, directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, will also be screened during the festival. Shah Rukh is all set to appear at the Forum @Spazio Cinema for a conversation on August 11.

In a statement, the Artistic Director of the Locarno Film Festival Giona A. Nazzaro said, “To welcome a living legend like Shah Rukh Khan in Locarno is a dream come true! The wealth and breadth of his contribution to Indian cinema is unprecedented. Khan is a king who has never lost touch with the audience that crowned him. This brave and daring artist has always been willing to challenge himself while remaining true to what his fans all over the world eagerly expect from his films. A true ‘people’s hero’, sophisticated and down to earth, Shah Rukh Khan is a legend of our times.”

More details

Some of the noted recipients of the same award in the past include Tsai Ming-liang, Claudia Cardinale, Johnnie To, Francesco Rosi, Harry Belafonte, and Jane Birkin.

Shah Rukh had a blockbuster 2023, with three releases back to back in a year after a four years-long gap. He marked a big screen comeback with YRF's Pathaan and later teamed up with Atlee for Jawan. Both films were blockbusters and set records at the box office, becoming one of the highest-grossers of the year. Shah Rukh's last and third release of 2023 was Rajkumar Hirani's Dunki.