Kangana Ranaut on getting Padma Shri: I dedicate this to every woman who dares to dream

Six cinema personalities were conferred with the country’s fourth highest civilian awards, officials said. Karan Johar, Ekta Kapoor, Kangana Ranaut , Adnan Sami, Suresh Wadkar and Sarita Joshi were among the awardees. Kangana, a three-time National Award Winner, is the only Bollywood actor to receive the Padma Shri this year. The 32-year-old actor, who made her debut in movies in 2006 with Gangster, is regarded as one of the most successful female artistes of this generation. [caption id=“attachment_7891641” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Kangana Ranaut. Image from Twitter[/caption] After a series of films with Mahesh Bhatt’s banner, Ranaut found success with Madhur Bhandarkar’s Fashion, for which she won her first National Film Award in 2009. She went on to win two back-to-back National Film Awards for her performances in Queen (2014) and Tanu Weds Manu Returns (2015). Kangana’s latest release is Panga. “I’m humbled and I’m honored. I thank my country for this recognition and I dedicate this to every woman who dares to dream. To every daughter, to every mother, and to the dreams of women who will shape the future of our country,” she said in a statement. Ekta, who started her showbiz journey with soap operas, most notably Kyunki Saas Bhi Bahu Thi, is the daughter of veteran actor Jeetendra. She launched her banner Balaji Telefilms in 1994 and backed many popular TV shows, eventually branching out into movie production. Ekta, 44, has produced films such as Love Sex Aur Dhoka, Once Upon a Time in Mumbai, The Dirty Picture, Udta Punjab and Veere Di Wedding. “I hope to continue breaking boundaries, to continue giving young talent a chance and to strive to give back to the country for all the love that’s come my way,” said the producer in a statement. Wadkar, 64, a veteran in the music industry, started his career as a playback singer in 1978 with song ‘Seene Mein Jalan’ for “Gaman”. He has lent his voice to memorable tracks like ‘Aye Zindagi Gale Lagaa Le’, ‘Aur Is Dil Mein’,  ‘Sapne Mein’, ‘Raat Ke Dhai Baje’ and ‘Jag Ja’. In his over four-decade-long career, Wadkar has collaborated with celebrated composers RD Burman, Shiv-Hari, Ilayaraja, Khayyam, AR Rahman, Bappi Lahiri, Vishal Bhardwaj and Hridayanath Mangeshkar. Sami, 48, now an Indian-citizen, made a mark for himself in country’s indie-pop scene with single ‘Kabhi Toh Nazar Milao’, for which he collaborated with veteran playback singer Asha Bhosle. In his reaction, he tweeted

The greatest moment for any Artiste is to be appreciated & recognised by his/her government. I am overwhelmed with infinite gratitude for being honoured with the ‘Padma Shri’ by the Government of India.
It has been a 34 years musical journey..
‘Bohot Shukriya’!!🙏#PadmaAwards

— Adnan Sami (@AdnanSamiLive) January 25, 2020

He released various albums in the early 2000s and also served as music composer for films Lucky: No Time for Love (2005), Dhamaal (2007) and Shaurya (2008). Sami, born in London to a Pakistani Air force veteran, applied for Indian citizenship in 2015 and became a citizen of the country in January 2016. Joshi, a household name and a popular theatre personality, started her acting career as a child artiste and made her TV debut in 1980s with Titliyan. Some of her most iconic shows are Hasratein, Ek Mahal Ho Sapno Ka, Baa Bahoo Aur Baby and Bh Se Bhade. Joshi, 78, has also featured in movies such as Nazar, Darna Zaroori Hai, Dasvidaniya, Singham Returns and Simmba. She was bestowed with the Sangeet Natak Akademi award for acting in Gujarati in 1988. “I am very happy and humbled with this honour. I am working from an early age, I have never worked for awards, for me work is worship. I have always worked from heart and given my best in whatever I have done. I will be known as Padma Shri Sarita Joshi, this is such a big honour. I am happy as my children are happy,” Joshi told PTI. (With inputs from Press Trust of India)