Nandamuri Balakrishna reacts to getting Padma Bhushan award, says, "I have completed 50 years as an actor..."

Telugu superstar Nandamuri Balakrishna received India’s third-highest civilian honour, the Padma Bhushan award, from President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhawan on Monday. The veteran actor has expressed his gratitude and joy after receiving the prestigious honour.

In an interview with ANI, Nandamuri expressed his excitement and noted he has 4500 registered fans in different cities, including Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Solapur, Orissa, Odisha and Bherampur. He also expressed gratitude towards the government of India.

He said, "I am overjoyed. I am thankful to my fans. I also thank the government of India. In 50 years of career, my work as an MLA, my hospital is one of the five big hospitals in the country and this is a matter of great joy. I thank everyone.”
The actor further noted, “People told me that I should have been awarded the Padma award much earlier, but I told them that the timing is right because I gave four hit films, it has been 15 years since I became the Chairman of Cancer Hospital, and I have completed 50 years as an actor..."

Besides Balakrishna, Tamil actor Ajith Kumar, filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, and the melodious voices of Jaspinder Narula and Arijit Singh were also awarded with the prestigious honour.

On the recent work front, Balakrishna was last seen in Bobby Kolli's directorial Daaku Maharaaj. The film also stars Urvashi Rautela, Shraddha Srinath, and Pragya Jaiswal in the pivotal roles.