Padma Awards: "RRR" music composer MM Keeravaani, actor Raveena Tandon among recipients
New Delhi, Jan 25: Tabla maestro Zakir Hussain, "RRR" music composer MM Keeravaani, actor 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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UDF leaders see local body poll trends as pointer to 2026 Assembly elections in Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Buoyed by the strong performance of the Congress-led UDF in the local body polls, KPCC president Sunny Joseph said on Saturday that the front's results indicated the people had rejected the LDF government.
According to early trends, the UDF was leading in more grama panchayats, block panchayats, municipalities and corporations than the LDF.
The local body polls were held in two phases in the state earlier this week.
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Speaking to reporters here, Joseph said the people of Kerala had extended their support to the UDF.
"We could expose the LDF government’s anti-people stance and the people understood it. The LDF’s fake propaganda was rejected by the people. The UDF is moving towards a historic victory," he said.
He said a united effort, proper preparations, good candidate selection and hard work had resulted in the Congress and the UDF’s victory in the elections.
Asked about the prospects in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, Joseph said the party was studying the matter and would comment later.
LDF convenor T P Ramakrishnan said the results would be closely examined.
According to him, the government had done everything possible for the people.
"Why such a verdict happened will be examined at the micro level. People’s opinion will be considered and further steps will be taken," he said.
He added that decisions would be taken after analysing the results. "If any corrective measures are required, we will initiate them and move forward," he said.
AICC leader K C Venugopal said the results showed that people had begun ousting those who, he alleged, were responsible for the loss of gold at Lord Ayyappa’s temple.
"This trend will continue in the Assembly elections as well. It is an indication that the people are ready to bring down the LDF government," he said.
Venugopal said the UDF had registered victories even in CPI(M) and LDF strongholds.
"I congratulate all UDF workers for their hard work. Congress workers and leaders worked unitedly," he said.
Referring to remarks made by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan against the Congress on polling day, Venugopal said the voters had responded through the verdict.
"I do not know whether the chief minister understands that the people are against him. Otherwise, he does not know the sentiment of the people. The state government cannot move an inch further," he said.
He said the results indicated a strong comeback for the UDF in Kerala.
Asked whether the Sabarimala gold loss issue had affected the LDF in the local polls, Venugopal said the CM and the CPI(M) state secretary did not take the issue seriously.
"We took a strong stand on the matter. The BJP played a foul game in it," he alleged.
On the BJP's role in the local body elections, Venugopal alleged that the party operated with the CPI(M) 's tacit support.
"The CPI(M) supported the central government on issues such as PM-SHRI, labour codes and corruption in national highway construction. The CPI(M) is facing ideological decline, and the state government’s policies are against the party’s own decisions," he said.
Meanwhile, LDF ally Kerala Congress (M) leader Jose K Mani said the party could not win all the wards it had expected in the elections.
He congratulated winners from all parties and said the party would closely examine the losses and identify shortcomings. "Later, we will take corrective measures," he added.
Senior Congress leader and MP Rajmohan Unnithan said the trends in the local body elections indicated that the UDF would return to power in the 2026 Assembly elections.
"We will win 111 seats as in 1977 and return to power in 2026. The anti-government sentiment of the people is reflected in the elections," he said.
Unnithan said the people were disturbed and unhappy with the present government.
"The trend indicates the end of the LDF government," he added.
CPI(M) MLA M M Mani said the people had shown ingratitude towards the LDF despite benefiting from welfare schemes.
"After receiving all welfare schemes and living comfortably, people voted against us due to some temporary sentiments. Is that not ingratitude," he asked.
Mani said no such welfare initiatives had taken place in Kerala earlier.
"People are receiving pensions and have enough to eat. Even after getting all this, they voted against us. This is what can be called ingratitude," he said.
Muslim League state president Panakkad Sayyid Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal said the results were beyond expectations.
"The outcome points towards the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram, indicating that a change of government is imminent. We are going to win the Assembly election," he said.
