Mithun Chakraborty, Usha Uthup conferred Padma Awards

Usha Uthup and Mithun Chakraborty receive the Padma Bhushan award from President Droupadi Murmu.

President Droupadi Murmu at a ceremonial function held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan

Bollywood's veteran actor Mithun Chakraborty and noted singer Usha Uthup were conferred Padma Bhushan Award yesterday (April 22) by President Droupadi Murmu at a ceremonial function held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.

Mithun Chakraborty looked hale and hearty, after his health scare earlier this year. He wore his trademark cap, a colourful patchwork shirt as he accepted the Padma Bhushan from the President.

Former vice-president M Venkaiah Naidu, founder of Sulabh International Bindeshwar Pathak and a host of other prominent persons were conferred with Padma Awards by the President.

Mithun da, as he is fondly addressed by his fans and friends, is known for his award winning performances in Hindi and Bengali cinema. He also won a National Award for his performance in his debut movie 'Mrigayaa' (1976). He later won two more National Film Awards for his performances in Tahader Katha (1992) and Swami Vivekananda (1998)

He is still loved for his portrayal of a Tamil character Krishnan Iyer MA (Nariyal Pani Wala) in 'Agneepath'. He was seen with Amitabh Bachchan in the movie.

Veteran Marathi film director Dattatray Ambadas Mayaloo alias Rajdutt also received his Padma Bhushan from President Droupadi Murmu in the field of Art.

Singer Usha Uthup was also conferred the Padma Bhushan award. She was seen in her signature Kanjeevaram saree, gajra and huge bindi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar were also present at the function.

Padma Awards, one of the highest civilian honours of the country, are conferred in three categories - Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri.

The Padma Vibhushan is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service, the Padma Bhushan for distinguished service of high order and Padma Shri for distinguished service in any field.

The awards are announced on the eve of Republic Day every year. For 2024, the President had approved conferment of 132 Padma awards, including two duo cases (in a duo case, the award is counted as one). The list comprises five Padma Vibhushan, 17 Padma Bhushan and 110 Padma Shri awards. As many as 30 of the awardees are women and the list also includes eight people from the category of Foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI and nine posthumous awardees.

While almost half of the awardees were conferred on Monday, the remaining are likely to get them next week.

(With PTI inputs)