Crowd goes wild after Shah Rukh Khan charms with his speech at the Locarno Film Festival - watch video

Shah Rukh Khan Pic/X

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan became the first Indian personality to be honoured with a lifetime achievement award, the so-called Pardo alla Carriera, or Career Leopard at the 77th edition of the Locarno Film Festival. Decked up in a sleek black blazer and matching trousers, Shah Rukh's dapper look for the festival served as a visual treat.

Like always, King Khan left the audience in awe with his everlasting charm. Several visuals from the festival surfaced online in which SRK can be seen making the crowd go wild with his presence. The main highlight was surely his speech, which drew constant cheers and other ecstatic reactions.

The Instagram handle of the Locarno Film Festival is flooded with pictures and videos of SRK from the festival.

SRK began by acknowledging the warm reception he received. "Thank you all for welcoming me with such wide arms - wider than the ones I do on screen," he quipped, referencing his famous open-armed pose.

He went on to praise the festival's location. "It's a very beautiful, very cultural, very artistic, and extremely hot city of Locarno," he remarked, adding with a grin, "So many people stuffed up in a little square and so hot. It's just like being home in India."

Khan, who was struggling to pronounce the name of the award, joked, "This award here, which, for the life of me, I've been trying… I can't pronounce."

He playfully renamed it "the Leopard award for being the most awesome in the world, in the history of humility and kindness and goodness."

SRK then shared his thoughts on cinema. "I truly believe cinema has been the most profound and influential artistic medium of our age. I've had the privilege of being part of this for many years, and this journey has taught me a few lessons," he added.

The actor emphasized the universal nature of art and filmmaking, stating, "Art is the act of affirming life above all. It goes beyond every man-made boundary into a space of liberation. It need not be political. It need not be polemical. It need not sermonize. It need not intellectualize. It need not moralize."

He continued, "Art and cinema only need to say what it feels from the heart, to express its own truth. And that, to me, is the biggest creativity, honestly."

Reflecting on his 35-year career in the film industry, SRK touched on the diverse roles he has played. "I've been a villain, I've been a champ, I've been a superhero, I've been a zero, I've been a rejected fan, and I've been a very, very resilient lover."

The 'Jawan' star concluded his speech by promising the audience that he will always push his boundaries.

"With the promise that awards like this encourage me to keep on trying to embody all the facets of life, to embody all the emotions, and to try to give that one more take, one more shot, one more emotion, and hopefully a little bit of love, so that all of you feel a little joyful," he said.

On the acting front, Khan is gearing up for the action thriller ‘King' which also stars his daughter Suhana Khan and features Abhishek Bachchan as the antagonist.

(With inputs from ANI)