Big B receives Maestro award

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan, classical flautist Hariprasad Chaurasia and ace santoor exponent Shivkumar Sharma were honoured here with the WWI (Whistling Woods International) Maestro Awards.

The honour was bestowed on the trio by filmmaker Subhash Ghai's film and media institute here Wednesday.

Amitabh, 70, said he was happy to meet young aspirants, who are the "future of this glorious industry", and felt honoured to share the stage with the stalwarts.

"The award was called the Maestro Award, but the true owners of that title were the ones standing to my left ... the most distinguished and pandits of classical music - Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, the flautist and Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, the master of the unique santoor," Big B posted on his blog srbachchan.tumblr.com.

Ghai's institute hosted its sixth annual convocation. The ceremony was organised to felicitate over 200 talented film and media graduates.

Big B said he is proud to see how youngsters are showing their interest towards films.

"It's a proud moment for me to see the future of film industry today. I'm grateful to Subhashji for building a platform that will enhance the skills of actors, filmmakers, screenplay writers and more.

"There is a huge amount of interest in filmmaking. So, I wish all the luck to the graduating batch that will now bear the burden of taking the industry to newer heights," he said in a statement.