SRK to receive career achievement award at Locarno Film Fest, leaves for Switzerland

Mumbai: Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan on Friday left for Switzerland to attend the 77th edition of the Locarno Film Festival where he will receive the Career Achievement Award.

Khan, one of the most loved stars of his generation in India and around the globe, will be facilitated with the Pardo alla Carriera award-Locarno Tourism on August 10 at Piazza Grande, Locarno.

The actor, 59, dressed in a white T-shirt, denims and jacket, was spotted at the Mumbai airport ahead of his trip. The career award, started in 2010, is given to one or more personalities whose artistic contributions have redefined cinema and the collective imagination.

Giona A Nazzaro, artistic director of the festival, described Shah Rukh as a "living legend" while announcing his name as the award recipient in July.

"The wealth and breadth of his contribution to Hindi-language 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,” Nazzaro had said.

Shah Rukh, who has enjoyed stardom for over three decades in the Hindi film industry with hits movies such as "Darr", "Baazigar", "Dil To Pagal Hai", "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge", "Devdas", "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai".

After a brief hiatus, the actor made his big screen return last year with three back-to-back hits in "Pathan", "Jawan" and "Dunki".

The festival will hold a retrospective of his work and the actor will also be part of a panel discussion. Italian filmmaker Francesco Rosi, American singer-actor Harry Belafonte, and Malaysian director Tsai Ming-Liang have been the previous recipients of the award.