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Noted Indian playback singer Asha Bhosle was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 11th Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF). The 81-year-old ‘Piya Tu Ab Toh Aja’ hitmaker was presented with the prestigious award for her decades of dedication to Indian cinema last night during the opening ceremony of the festival.
After receiving the award, Bhosle treated the audience to an impromptu performance of her most memorable renditions.
“Receiving DIFF award from Sheikh Mansour Bin Mohammed Al Maktoum,” Bhosle tweeted.
The octogenarian singer has recorded more than 12,000 songs and is known for her versatility as a singer be it folk songs, Indian classical music, pop songs, ghazals and bhajans.
Acclaimed Egyptian actor Nour El-Sherif was also presented with the DIFF Lifetime Achievement Award for his work on over 100 films, in a career spanning nearly five decades. El-Sherif and Bhosle joined previous winners including Martin Sheen, Omar Sharif, Faten Hamamah, Adel Imam, Jameel Rateb, Sabah, Morgan Freeman, Sean Penn, Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Daoud Abdel Sayed, Youssef Chahine, Rachid Bouchareb, Yash Chopra, Subhash Ghai among others.
The eight day film festival will come to an end on December 17.
DIFF Chairman Abdulhamid Juma said:
“Asha Bhosle is a stalwart of the Indian music scene, and we are proud to be honoring her with this DIFF Lifetime Achievement Award. Her work has touched almost every corner of the world: we look forward to welcoming such a legend to Dubai and DIFF.”
Asha Bhosle added:
“I am delighted to have been nominated to receive this Lifetime Achievement Award from DIFF in Dubai – a place with long historic ties to my country. I look forward to visiting this special film festival, which has done so much work to promote the art worldwide.”
The Lifetime Achievement Award is dedicated to honoring the world’s greatest film industry actors, writers, directors and producers. Previous winners include Martin Sheen, Omar Sharif, Faten Hamamah, Adel Imam, Jameel Rateb, Sabah, Morgan Freeman, Sean Penn, Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Daoud Abdel Sayed, Youssef Chahine, Rachid Bouchareb, Souleymane Cisse, Nabil El-Maleh, Oliver Stone, Danny Glover, Terry Gilliam, Yash Chopra, Subhash Ghai, Michael Apted and Mahmoud Abdel Aziz.
