Filmmakers Karan Johar and Ekta Kapoor received their Padma Shri awards in a ceremony held in New Delhi on Monday evening. President Ram Nath Kovind presented the Padma awards for 2020 at Rashtrapati Bhawan with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in attendance. The awards are being given out in four batches – actor Kangana Ranaut and singer Adnan Sami received their Padma Shri awards in the first ceremony on Monday morning. The honours list for the film industry includes singer SP Balasubrahmanyam who will receive the Padma Vibhushan posthumously.
Kangana Ranaut, who also recently received the National Award for Best Actress. was dressed in a gold saree for the Padma awards ceremony.
The Padma awards for 2020 have been somewhat controversial, largely because of Adnan Sami who is of Pakistani origin and became an Indian citizen in 2016; his Padma Shri was widely criticised when the honours list was announced in January with the Nationalist Congress Party calling it an “insult to 130 crore Indians.” Mr Sami lashed out at Jaiveer Shergill of the Congress on Twitter after the politician denounced the singer’s Padma honour as “chamchagiri.”
Speaking to news agency PTI after controversy erupted, Adnan Sami said, “The people who are criticising are some minor politicians. They are doing it because of some political agenda that they have and it has nothing to do with me. I am not a politician, I am a musician.”
Kangana Ranaut and Karan Johar, once very public enemies, receiving Padma Shri honours the same year has also not escaped comment on the Internet. Speaking to Mumbai Mirror after the honours list was announced, KJo said, “So much has been said about Kangana, me and some kind of rivalry or simmering tension. But at every public event we’ve met, we’ve greeted each other graciously. Whatever may have been said or insinuated in print, I think I’m too old and wise to hold any kind of malice in my heart for anybody. As a filmmaker, I respect Kangana’s talent, craft, and what she brings to the table. She is an actor who has proved her mettle and is deserving of the honor. Besides Ekta and Adnan Sami, I am honoured to receive the Padma Shri alongside Kangana.” He also did not rule out future collaborations with the actress.
