Kavita Krishnamurthy conferred with Lifetime Achievement Award in UK

London: Well-known playback and classical singer Kavita Krishnamurthy has been conferred with a Lifetime Achievement Award for her contribution to music by the annual UK Asian Film Festival (UKAFF) in London.

The 66-year-old singer behind several Bollywood box-office hits from films like ‘Mr India’ and ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’ received the Golden Flame Lifetime Achievement Award at a glittering ceremony over the weekend, followed by a celebration event on Monday.

She was honoured for her achievements over a career spanning four decades, having recorded over 50,000 songs in nearly 45 Indian languages.

“I was always very clear that any film song that my brother or mother would feel embarrassed listening to, I would not be singing,” Krishnamurthy said during a special Rendezvous interaction at London's Taj Hotel.

It followed the closing gala of UKAFF 2024 where the singer was felicitated for her dedication to Indian music through concerts worldwide and the Subramaniam Academy of Performing Arts in Bengaluru, which she founded with her celebrated violinist husband L. Subramaniam.

'We are thrilled to have had the opportunity to honour her extraordinary career journey at the UK Asian Film Festival. Her talent and dedication have left an indelible mark on the industry,” said UKAFF Founder and Director Dr Pushpinder Chowdhry.

UKAFF is among the world’s longest-running South Asian film festivals presented by Tongues on Fire, which concluded its 26th edition with the annual Flame Awards.

The festival is dedicated to championing South Asian female-centric cinema and women in film, both behind and in front of the camera. Its mission is to advocate and promote gender equality in cinema and its annual awards presentation further seeks to celebrate the achievements of women in cinema.

Aligned to this year’s Climate of Change festival theme, heritage Indian designer Rina Dhaka received the award for Flame Celebrating Sustainable Fashion, where she also spoke at length about her environmentally friendly collections.

Veteran actor Shabana Azmi was conferred with the Golden Flame Award Celebrating 50 years of in Cinema at the conclusion of the fortnight-long film festival, which opened earlier this month. The theme for next year's edition has been unveiled as 'Longing and Belonging'.

“With technology we are connected better but have become more fragmented, so we hope to find films and programme events that will celebrate the ideas and bonds that unite us; transcending borders and barriers to embrace our shared humanity, champion diversity and empower emerging talents, ensuring that more voices from the United Kingdom are heard and celebrated alongside visionaries from all corners of the globe for UKAFF 2025,” said UKAFF Creative Director Samir Bhamra.