Tabla maestro Zakir Hussain, "RRR" music composer MM Keeravaani, actress Raveena Tandon, and singers Suman Kalyanpur and Vani Jairam were among 106 recipients of the coveted Padma Awards for the year 2023 announced on the eve of Republic Day.
According to an official statement, Hussain, also a composer and percussionist, was bestowed with the Padma Vibhushan, awarded for exceptional and distinguished service. The acclaimed musician had received Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan in 1988 and 2002, respectively.
Jairam and Kalyanpur were announced recipients of the Padma Bhushan, presented for distinguished service of high order.
Jairam, who broke onto to the music scene with the song "Bole Re Papihara" from Jaya Bachchan's debut as a leading lady in the 1971 film "Guddi", has done playback for over a thousand Indian movies, recording over 10,000 songs across languages such as Kannada, Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi, and Bengali, among others.
Kalyanpur, known for songs such as "Na Tum Hamen Jano" and "Aajkal Tere Mere Pyaar Ke Charche", was one of the top singers of the time along with the late melody queen Lata Mangeshkar. A popular singer in the 1960s and 1970s, Kalyanpur recorded popular tracks for movies in several languages including Hindi, Marathi, Assamese, Gujarati, Maithili, Bhojpuri, Rajasthani, and Punjabi.
Keeravaani and Tandon were conferred with the Padma Shri, an award for distinguished service in any field.
Keeravaani, who last week received the Golden Globe award for the Telugu song "Naatu Naatu" from the epic period action drama "RRR", only yesterday scooped up an Academy Award nomination for the track making it the first Indian song to reach the final five in the best original song category. The renowned music composer predominantly works in Telugu cinema but has credits across Hindi, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam film industries.
Tandon, star of movies such as "Mohra", "Satta", and "Daman" in the 1990s and 2000s, dedicated the Padma Shri honour to her late father, film producer Ravi Tandon.
"It is always a wonderful feeling to have one’s work appreciated and honoured by one’s country. Such appreciation may, at first glance, feel like the reward that signifies the culmination of my journey, it is anything but," said the actor, who made her digital debut with the 2021 Netflix series "Aranyak", in a statement.
"... For this will spur me on to bigger and greater things in the field that I so love. This is a special day. My country has honoured me. I feel that I belong. Thank you, India! I owe this to my father," Tandon, also an environmentalist, added.
Padma awards, one of the highest civilian awards of the country, are conferred in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri.
These honours are given in various disciplines/ fields of activities, such as - art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc.
Padma awards are conferred by the President at ceremonial functions which are held at the Rashtrapati Bhawan usually around March or April every year.
For 2023, the President has approved conferment of 106 Padma awards, including three duo cases (in a duo case, the award is counted as one).
The list comprises six Padma Vibhushan, nine Padma Bhushan and 91 Padma Shri Awards. Nineteen of the awardees are women and the list also includes two persons from the category of Foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI and seven posthumous awardees.
The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year.
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