21st PIFF to kick-start from Thursday, February 2, 2023

- Actor Manoj Kumar and Music Arranger Enoch Daniels to be honoured with PIFF Distinguished Award for Outstanding Contribution to Indian Cinema during the inauguration ceremony.

- Renowned Singer Usha Mangeshkar to be honoured with the prestigious S.D. Burman International Award for Creative Music and Sound.

The 21st Pune International Film Festival (PIFF) organized by Pune Film Foundation and Maharashtra Government will start from Thursday, February 2, 2023. The inauguration ceremony of the festival will be held at Theater Academy's Lalit Sakal Kalaghar, Mukundnagar from 5:30 PM. Pune District Guardian Minister, Chandrakant Patil will be the Chief Guest at the ceremony. This information was given by Dr. Jabbar Patel, Director, PIFF.

This year, renowned Actor, Director and Producer, Manoj Kumar and eminent music arranger, Enoch Daniels will be honoured with the PIFF Distinguished Award for Outstanding Contribution to Indian Cinema.

Similarly, renowned Singer Usha Mangeshkar will be honoured with the prestigious S.D. Burman International Award for Creative Music and Sound. The awards will be presented at the hands of Chandrakant Patil during the inauguration ceremony.

The S.D. Burman International Award for Creative Music and Sound was constituted in 2010 to honour the versatile and prolific musical talent in Indian Cinema. The award is named after the legendary Indian music composer who embodied different sounds of India in his compositions. It is also a unique initiative that acknowledges the integral place of music in Indian cinema and culture.

The ceremony will open with the performances of National Award Winner Vocalist, Rahul Deshpande and Playback Singer, Priyanka Barve and team who will sing the songs of golden era. The event will be followed by a dance performance by Sharvari Jamenis and group.

The Iranian film ‘Holy Spider’ directed by Iranian filmmaker, Ali Abbasi will be shown after the inauguration ceremony as the opening film.