Bollywood actor Manoj Bajpayee has been awarded the prestigious Padma Shri in a ceremony held on Saturday in New Delhi by President Ramnath Kovind. The noted actor was present in traditional attire at the ceremony and received the honor with folded hands.
Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir and the renowned scientist Nambi Narayanan were also honored with the award at the ceremony.
Actor Mohanlal, actor-choreographer Prabhudeva, musician Shankar Mahadevan and percussionist Anandan Sivamani and other 56 distinguished personalities who were also honored with Padma Shri Awards. President Ram Nath Kovind presented the awards to them on January 11.
Earlier in an interview given to indianexpress.com, Manoj had shared that getting recognized by the government means a lot to him as his years of work dedicated to cinema has finally found meaning.
“All other awards are given for excellence in a role or a film. But Padma Shri is given for excellence in your journey. It’s not just about a film you have contributed to but through your art and craft the contribution you have made to society. So, that’s a huge comment on the achievement of an artist like me,” the actor said.
Manoj was last seen in dacoit drama ‘Sonchiriya’ which garnered appreciation from the critics but failed to bring the audience to the theatre. He will be next seen in the Netflix film Dhaka, in which he will be seen sharing screen space with Hollywood actor Chris Hemsworth, Pankaj Tripathi, David Harbour, and Randeep Hooda.