Kamal Haasan and lyricist Vairamuthu are among the 127 Padma awardees announced on the occasion of 65th Republic day.
The versatile actor and the notable lyricist have been selected to receive the Padma Bhushan award, one of the highest civilian awards, by the Indian government.
On being the recipient of the Padma Bhushan award, Kamal said, "Proud to be an Indian. India is a country with great talents in various many fields. While legions await to be honoured, I am honoured that I have been chosen for Padma Bhushan by my government. I think it is sheer chance and my good fortune that I have been chosen."
"I hope that I would live long to do more to deserve this award. I don't consider this an honour for work that I have already done. This would be an impetus for me to do more good work, perhaps only then would I deserve it. My heartfelt congratulations to the other Padhma Bhushan awardees especially my friend Mr.Vairamuthu."
Kamal, noted for his acting prowess, began his film career as a child artiste. He has appeared in more than 150 films in various languages including Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam and Kannada. The eminent actor and filmmaker has been bestowed with various awards such as the Tamil Nadu government's Kalaimamani award, three National awards and 19 Filmfare awards among others. He was the recipient of the prestigious Padma Shri award in 1990.
Lyricist Vairamathu, who is the also the recipient of Padma Bhushan, began his career in the 1980s. He has reportedly written lyrics for more than 5,000 songs in the film industry. Vairamuthu has won several Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, including the Kalaimamani award for his contribution to Tamil literature. The lyricist has also won National Film Award for best lyrics six times and received the prestigious Padma Shri award in 2003.
Besides Kamal and Vairamuthu, 22 other eminent personalities from various field of work are due to receive the Padma Bhushan awards.
Two recipients - Dr Raghunath A. Mashelkar (Science and Engineering) and Shri BKS Iyengar (Others-Yoga) - will be bestowed with the Padma Vibhushan award.
As many as 101 civilians will be receiving the Padma Shri Award for their distinguished service in any field. To check the complete list, click HERE.
President of India, Pranab Mukherjee, will confer the awards to the recipients at a function that will be held in Rashtrapati Bhawan around March/April.
