Shahrukh Khan conferred French title

Mumbai, Jan 28 : Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan was conferred the prestigious 'Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters' title by the French Government for his 15-year contribution to the Hindi film industry.

The title was conferred to Khan by French Ambassador in India Jerome Bonnafont at the inaugural ceremony of a four-day French film festival held at a suburban hotel here on Sunday.

"To me it is not about being me, being recognised anywhere anymore because it just feels. I don't want to sound arrogant or pompous. But its really nice that I can be considered someone who can in someway take Indian cinema to shores that have not experienced Indian cinema before," said Khan.

Speaking about his recent interest in cricket and foray into the territory through the bid that the film star won for the Kolkata side in the Indian Premier League, Khan said sports is a passion for him.

The 'Order of Arts et Lettres', created in 1957, is one of the four Ministerial Honours of the French republic and was established to reward artists who have gained fame for their works in the field of arts and literature and have promoted these fields.

Khan is now in the company of other recipients, which include Indian director Adoor Gopalakrishnan, author Arundhati Roy, singer David Bowie and Bob Dylan, actors George Clooney, Leonardo Di Caprio and Clint Eastwood.

ANI