Michael Douglas to receive Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award at IFFI 2023

NEW DELHI: Renowned Hollywood star Michael Douglas will be honoured with the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award at the International Film Festival of India in Goa, Union minister Anurag Thakur announced on Friday.

Thakur shared the news in a post on the microblogging site X, saying that the actor will also attend the 54th edition of the festival along with his wife Catherine Zeta-Jones, and son Dylan. The film gala will be held from November 20 to 28.

"I'm delighted to announce that Michael Douglas, the distinguished Hollywood Actor, and Producer, will be honoured with the prestigious Satyajit Ray Excellence in Film Lifetime Award at the 54th International Film Festival Goa," Thakur wrote.

"His deep love for our country is well known, and we look forward to welcoming him, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and their son, to the most prominent Film Festival in South Asia to showcase our rich cinematic culture and unique traditions at #IFFI54!! A heartfelt welcome to Bharat and @IFFIGoa," he added.

Douglas later shared a message with his fans in India about his upcoming trip to IFFI.

"Hello India, it's Michael Douglas here and I'm coming your way. I'm honoured to receive the Satyajit Ray Excellence in Film Lifetime Award at the International Indian Film Festival in Goa. So Catherine and I are going to be coming there. We're also going to honour our dear friend Shailendra Singh and his 25th year anniversary in the film business. So I'm looking forward to seeing you in November. You have a wonderful day," the actor said in a video message posted by NFDC India on X.

In his career of over five decades, Douglas, 79, has starred in several critically-acclaimed and blockbuster movies such as "Wall Street", "Fatal Attraction", "The War of the Roses", "Basic Instinct", "Falling Down", "The American President", "Traffic" and "Behind the Candelabra".

Douglas, son of Hollywood icon Kirk Douglas, had won an Oscar for his 1975 production "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and then bagged the best actor trophy for "Wall Street".

According to a press release, Douglas and Zeta-Jones will also be participating in a special 'In Conversation' session hosted by Singh.

The Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award, instituted in the IFFI in 1999, is presented to individuals whose exceptional contributions have significantly enriched and elevated the world of cinemaPast recipients include Bernardo Bertolucci, Carlos Saura, Martin Scorsese, Dilip Kumar, Krzysztof Zanussi and Wong Kar-wai.

In May this year, the Hollywood veteran had visited the India Pavilion at the Cannes Film Festival where he was felicitated and invited to the IFFI.