Centre to honour Rajinikanth at IFFI

New Delhi: The 50th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) will honour actor Rajinikanth with a special Icon of Golden Jubilee award, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar announced on Saturday.

He also announced celebrated French actor Isabelle Huppert as the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award.

In its golden jubilee year, the festival will screen 50 films by 50 female filmmakers to acknowledge the contribution of women in cinema, Javadekar said.

Russia will be the partner country at the festival this year. Dadasaheb Phalke Award winner Amitabh Bachchan's selected seven or eight films will also be showcased at the movie gala.

The festival will be held in Goa from November 20 to 28. Close to 250 films from various countries will be screened at the premier film festival.

Rajini thanks govt

Thanking the government for the award, Rajinikanth tweeted, 'I thank the government of India for this prestigious honour bestowed upon me on the golden jubilee of the International film festival of India #IFFI2019.'