It's that time of the year again. For film buffs and lovers of world cinema, this is feasting time. The 11th edition of MAMI, the Mumbai Film Festival got off to a fine start yesterday. The highlight of the inauguration was when veteran actor Shashi Kapoor arrived to accept the Lifetime Achievement Award, which was conferred on him by Ambika Soni, the IandB Minister.

The actor who has is reportedly in very frail health, arrived on a wheelchair and was helped by actress Shabana Azmi, who held the mike while he made his short thank you speech. It was a fitting award for a man, who has been more often than not, overshadowed by his two elder brothers, the late Raj Kapoor and Shammi Kapoor. A true son of his father, the late Prthiviraj Kapoor, who began his career as a stage actor, Shashi and his late wife Jennifer founded Prithvi Theatre, as a mark of respect to Prithviraj Kapoor and to fund and promote theatre. Despite acting in so many potboilers in his heydays, when he turned producer, Shashi made sure that he made the kind of films that he wanted to. And they were remarkable films like 'Junoon', easily one of Shyam Benegal's best, 'Vijeyta' and 'Kalyug'. Even as an actor, he did his bit for good cinema by acting in the films of Merchant Ivory, like 'Shakespearwallah' and 'The Householder'. If Raj Kapoor left behind his R. K. Studio for posterity, Shammi will definitely always be remembered for his cry of 'Yahoo', then Prithvi Theatre will always be a part of the memories with which posterity will remember Shashi Kapoor. No matter how feeble his health, the actor always makes it a point to be there for the Prithvi Theatre Festival which is organized every year by his daughter Sanjana Kapoor. Age and time may have taken their toll on him, but nothing can take away from the memory of fans, who will still remember him for his dashing and charming screen presence. But to come back to MAMI, there will be a total of 200 films which will be screened , which will include a retrospective on Shashi and Greek director, Theo Angelopolous. Producer director Yash Chopra too was felicitated on the occasion for his Outstanding Achievement in Films.