Om Puri to get lifetime achievement award at IFFP

Veteran actor Om Puri will be felicitated with the lifetime achievement award at the first edition of the International Film Festival of Prayag (IFFP), Allahabad.

He will be honoured at the event's awards function Feb 28, next year.

The 65-year-old, whose previous accolades include a lifetime achievement award at the 2009 Filmfare Awards and the Padmashri, India's fourth highest civilian award, in 1990, will receive the award for his prestigious and remarkable contribution to the film industry.

"It's a great honour for us to welcome a personality like Om Puri at the very first year. We are very fortunate to get his support. We will honour him with the lifetime achievement award at this event as our respect towards him," festival director Abhishek Arun said in a statement.

Hosted by Z&Z Media Pvt. Ltd., IFFP will take place in Allahabad Feb 26-28, next year. The festival aims to promote cinema, especially in the country's north-west region.

"The principle objective of the IFFP is to promote and encourage awareness, appreciation and understanding of the art of cinema especially in this region. Filmmaking professionals and students belonging to the northern region of our country will have a new platform," said the festival's founder Hasan Haider.

Om Puri, a Punjab-born talent, is a graduate from the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, and the National School of Drama, Delhi. He is among the few Indian actors to represent the country at the international level.

In a career of over four decades, Om Puri has portrayed varied roles in films like "Ghashiram Kotwal", "Arohan" and "Ardh Satya". He featured in the 1982 classic "Gandhi", and also starred in various international films like "My Son The Fanatic", "East Is East", "Charlie Wilson's War" and "The Reluctant Fundamentalist".