B. P. SINGH, VIKRAM GOKHALE TO BE HONOURED WITH DISTINGUISHED AWARD AND USHA KHANNA TO BE FELICITATED WITH S. D. BURMAN INTERNATIONAL AWARD FOR CREATIVE MUSIC AND SOUND AT PIFF DEDICATED TO DR SHRIRAM LAGOO THIS YEAR

Jyothi Venkatesh

The creator of the popular TV series CID and FTII Chairman, B. P. Singh and national award winner veteran actor, Vikram Gokhale will be honoured at 18th Pune International Film Festival (PIFF) with the prestigious PIFF Distinguished Award. This year’s S. D. Burman International Award for Creative Music and Sound will be conferred upon music director Usha Khanna, who is known for her important contribution in Hindi cinema right from the old melodies like ‘Dil Deke Dekho’ (1959). The announcement of the awards was made by Dr. Jabbar Patel, Director, PIFF in a press conference held in Pune today. Ravi Gupta, Trustee of Pune Film Foundation, Samar Nakhate, Creative Director, Prakash Magdum, Director, NFAI, Hansdhwaj Sonawane, Deputy Director, Tribal Research & Training Institute, Prof. Amit Tyagi, Associate Director, Admin and Academic, MIT School of Film & Television, Pune were present among the dignitaries.The film festival organized by Pune Film Foundation and Maharashtra Government will be inaugurated on Thursday, January 9, 2020, at Balgandharva Rangamandir, Jangli Maharaj Road at 5 pm. B. P. Singh, Vikram Gokhale and Usha Khanna will be awarded in the same event. The leading actors of TV series CID- Shivaji Satam, Aditya Srivastava and Dayanand Shetty will remain present for the ceremony. Marathi Actress Mukta Barve will be present as well, informed Dr Patel. The Argentinian movie ‘The Weasel’s Tale’ directed by Juan José Campanella will be shown after the inauguration ceremony at NFAI Law College Road and NFAI Kothrud as the opening film of PIFF.  This year, the festival will be dedicated to Dr. Shriram Lagoo and the main gate of the festival will be named after the late veteran actor. Along with that, a few renowned films of Dr. Lagoo will also be shown at the festival.

The names of the films in the Marathi Film Competition category were also announced by Dr. Patel. About 60 Marathi films were received this year of which 7 films were chosen to be played at the festival. The films including  ‘Thujhya Aaila (Shivi Nay, Khelacha Nav hay te)’ by Sujay Sunil Dahake, ‘Chivati’ by Rajkumar LaxmanraoTangade, ‘Y’ by Ajit Suryakant Wadikar, ‘Photo Prem’ by Aditya Rathi & Gayatri Patil, ‘Smile Please’ by Vikram Phadnis, ‘Bonsai’ by Sameer Asha Patil, ‘Anandi Gopal’ by Sameer Sanjay Vidhwans will be screened in this category.This year, a special short film competition was organized under PIFF in association with Tribal Research and Training Institute (TRTI). Out of 33 films recieved in this category, 15 films has been selected to be played at the festival. The names of the shortlisted films are as follows- ‘Soyarik’ by Bandurao Vasant Jadhav, ‘Thaalkathi’ by Vivek P Kulkarni, ‘Tarapa’ by Vishal Eknath Barde, ‘Thali Wadya’ by Pavan Prabhakar Dhaware, ‘Chanki Sokda’ by Dharma Wankhade, ‘Rani Beti’ by Dharma Wankhade, ‘The Roots’ by Suyog Deshpande, ‘Togetherness’ by Amar Melgiri, ‘Thalsar-Bangsar’ by Shri R M Jadhav, ‘The Mighty Gonts’ by Viplav Subhash Shinde, ‘Nandi Bail’ by Rahul Ramchandra Pawar, ‘Bhangsar-Thaal’ by Rahul Ramchandra Pawar, ‘Art for Life’ by SayaliTanpure, ‘Tarapa – Organs of an Innocent Culture’ by Manoj AppasoJanwekar, ‘VanopcharAdivasincha’ by Prashant Kadhe.

This year’s PIFF Distinguished Awardee B. P. Singh (Brijendra Pal Singh) is an FTII alumnus, who’s serving as the chairman of FTII since 2018.He is primarily known as the creator of the television series like CID and Aahat.

The fictional crime investigation series, CID is one of the most popular and longest-running television shows in India. It started in 1998 and went on for over 21 years. The horror/thriller series Aahat that started in 1995 also gained widespread popularity.

Singh has produced and directed several other TV shows as well. Vikram Gokhale is an accomplished actor who has given a remarkable contribution to Marathi theatre and Marathi and Hindi cinema. He was honoured with the national award for the best actor for his role in the Marathi movie,‘Anumati’ in which he depicts the role of an emotional man struggling to save his dying wife. Some of his most appreciated performances include plays like Barrister, Kamala, Swami, Mahasagar, Nakalat Saare Ghadle, Ke Dil Abhi Bhara Nahi, Marathi movies like Vazir, Mahananda, Kalat Nakalat, Maherchi Saadi, Aghaat, Natasamrat and Hindi movies like Agnipath, Thoda Sa Rumani Ho Jaye, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam etc. He also acted in several television serials. Apart from being an actor, he is also known for his work for disabled soldiers.

Music director Usha Khanna has made her mark as a successful composer in this male-dominated profession. Her journey started with the popular movie ‘Dil Deke Dekho’ (1959) which became a sensation for its music. She has contributed in the movies like Bin Fere Hum Tere, Lal Bangla, Hum Hindustani, Aap To Aise Na The, Saajan Bina Suhagan, Sautan, AaoPyaar Karen etc .