MUMBAI: The seven-day Pune International Film Festival (PIFF) that goes underway on 7 January will be inaugurated by Dev Anand in the presence of State Ministers Sunil Tatkare and Ramesh Bagwe at Bal Gandharva Rang Mandir.

Chairman of the PIFF, Suresh Kalmadi said that the film festival would be the official film festival of the Government of Maharashtra from this year, as 2010 is also the golden jubilee year of the state.

This year, PIFF will confer lifetime achievement awards to Rajesh Khanna and Dr Shriram Lagoo for their outstanding contribution towards Indian cinema and theatre.

Starting this year, PIFF will introduce 'Sachin Dev Burman international award for creative music and sound' for individuals who make a significant contribution in the field of music.

The first recipient of this honour would be music composer Pyarelal of the famous Laxmikant-Pyarelal duo.

This year, more than 150 films from 42 countries would be screened at six venues that include E-Square on University Road, Inox on Bund Garden Road, Fame at Fatima Nagar, City Pride in Kothrud, NFAI on Law College Road and NFAI on Paud Road.

Apart from the State Government, the festival is also being supported by the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Directorate of Film Festivals, National Film Archives of India (NFAI), Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), Alliance de Francais and Whistling Woods.