Producers' Council raises Phalke award call for Syam
Source: The Sangai Express
Guwahati, July 28 2022:
The Producers' Council, an association of producers of film and television and a member of the Film Federation of India has written to the Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting, seeking nomination of Aribam Syam Sharma for the Dada Saheb Phalke Award.
A statement issued by the Council's general secretary Deepak Kumar Dutta and Manju Borah, president, said that Aribam Syam Sharma is a living legend of Indian cinema who has been synonymous with Manipuri cinema since its birth in 1972, making feature films, documentaries, telefilms etc and taking cinema from one of India's tiniest States to the world stage.
While doing so, he has brought glory to India and Manipur.
A multiple National Award winner in both feature and non-feature categories, the stalwart still remains the only filmmaker from North East India whose film Ishanou was shown in the official selection of the venerated Cannes Film Festival in 1991, the statement continued.
The octogenarian Aribam Syam Sharma, trained musician, has till date directed 14 feature and 31 non-feature films, after having debuted as an actor and music director in Matamgi Manipur, the first Manipuri film released in 1972.In that sense, Manipuri cinema's identity is inseparable from that of Aribam Syam Sharma.
The statement further said that his films have won many international awards, and that he has won the V Shantaram Lifetime Achievement Award given by the Films Division in the Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF).
Given his contribution to Indian cinema, the statement added that Sharma rightfully deserves to be considered for the highest honour of Indian cinema, the Dada Saheb Phalke Award.