Shah Rukh Khan celebrates with his prize on the Piazza Grande area during the 77th Locarno International Film Festival, in Locarno, Switzerland
| Photo Credit: JEAN-CHRISTOPHE BOTT
Bollywood’s charismatic ‘King Khan’, graced the 77th Locarno Film Festival with his presence on Saturday, receiving a career achievement award that further gilds his storied career. Shah Rukh delivered his acceptance speech to a rapt audience of 8,000 at Locarno’s famed Piazza Grande.
He opened his speech with a nod to his iconic open-armed pose, saying, “Thank you all for welcoming me with such wide arms—wider than the ones I do on screen.”
Shah Rukh also commented on the festival’s setting, noting the heat and the crowd. “It’s a very beautiful, very cultural, very artistic, and extremely hot city of Locarno,” he observed, adding, “So many people stuffed up in a little square and so hot. It’s just like being home in India.” With temperatures reaching 35°C, his comparison was met with laughs from the crowd.
He then shifted gears to discuss his views on the essence of cinema. “I truly believe cinema has been the most profound and influential artistic medium of our age,” he stated. He expounded on the universal nature of art, emphasizing its power to transcend boundaries. “Art is the act of affirming life above all,” he said, “It need not be political. It need not be polemical. It need not sermonize. It need not intellectualize. It need not moralize.”
The actor’s reflections on creativity and emotion were particularly poignant. “There is no creativity without love, which is a language which transcends all languages and is comprehended by everyone around the world,” he noted. His comments highlighted his belief that creativity and joy are interconnected.
Later, Shah Rukh jested over struggling to pronounce the name of his award — the Pardo alla Carriera Ascona-Locarno Tourism — mischievously renaming it the “Leopard award for being the most awesome in the world, in the history of humility and kindness and goodness.”
Festival director Giona A. Nazzaro highlighted Khan’s impact, noting, “He’s a great artist. He’s been carrying the dreams and the hopes of so many people through his wonderful work ethic and discipline.” Shah Rukh concluded his speech with a commitment to continue exploring diverse roles and emotions, promising to give his best in every performance and was met with a rapturous applause. In a final cheeky gesture, Shah Rukh requested, “Can you keep a shorter name? Just like, ‘arrivederci.’”
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