In a grand pre-Republic Day gesture, India honors 131 luminaries with Padma Awards, spanning cinema, music, arts, and beyond. The highest Padma Vibhushan goes posthumously to Dharmendra Deol, whose action-packed and heartfelt portrayals remain etched in Bollywood history.
Television favorite Satish Shah (posthumous) and multifaceted actor R. Madhavan are similarly celebrated. Violin legend Dr. N. Rajam, with her 50-year odyssey in music and BHU professorship, claims the second Vibhushan. Iconic singer Alka Yagnik, with her 20,000-song legacy in diverse tongues, receives Padma Bhushan.
Film icon Mammootty, ad guru Piyush Pandey (posthumous), and polyglot poet R. Ganesh join the Bhushan ranks. Padma Shri salutes Anil Kumar Rastogi of ‘Anupama’ fame, whose six-decade journey across stage and screen is exemplary.
The extensive Shri list features Bhojpuri folk artist Bharat Singh Bharti, Tarpa virtuoso Bhiklya Ladkya Dhinda, late Vishwa Bandhu, artisan Chiranji Lal Yadav, classical dancer Deepika Reddy, South star Gaddde Rajendra Prasad, and Bhapang master Gafuruddin Mewati Jogi. Musical prodigies like Garimella Balakrishna Prasad, Gayatri and Ranjani Balasubramaniam, Mohiniyattam expert Vimala Menon, tabla wizard Pt. Kumar Bose, Assamese vocalist Pokhila Lekthepi, Bengali actor Prosenjit Chatterjee, santoorist Tarun Bhattacharya, mridangam maestro Tiruvarur Bakthavatsalam, and vocalist Tripti Mukherjee round out the honorees.
This year’s Padma roster vividly portrays India’s cultural diversity, paying homage to artists who have bridged traditions and innovations.