Mumbai: The Padma Awards, the civilian honours, were conferred in the National capital on Monday. Luminaries from Hindi cinema including filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, singer Arijit Singh and the late Ghazal singer Pankaj Udhas were honoured at the ceremony.
While Shekhar Kapur was honoured with a Padma Bhushan by President of India, Droupadi Murmu, Arijit received a Padma Shri. Pankaj Udhas was honoured posthumously, his wife received the honour on his behalf.
Back in January, this year, Shekhar had expressed his gratitude on receiving the honour. He took to his X, formerly Twitter, and wrote, “What an honour! Am humbled that the Government of India has considered me to be deserving of a #Padmanbhushan. Hopefully this award will make me strive harder to serve the Industry that I am part of, and the beautiful Nation that I am so fortunate to belong to. Thank you also to our film audiences of India, for I am because you are. #JaiHind”.
Telugu actor Nandamuri Balakrishna, and classical dancer Shobhana were also awarded the Padma Bhushan. Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, and Padma Shri is the fourth-highest civilian award for the country.
The ceremony was held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi. The ceremony honored personalities across various fields, with the entertainment industry taking center stage as several of its stalwarts were recognised for their lasting contributions.
The ceremony honored personalities across various fields, with the entertainment industry taking center stage as several of its stalwarts were recognised for their lasting contributions. These include fields like public affairs, science and engineering, medicine, social work, literature, education, sports, and civil services. This year’s Padma Award ceremony saw a strong representation from the entertainment industry.
(IANS)
