Mohanlal, Prabhu Deva, Manoj Bajpayee, Shankar Mahadevan express gratitude for Padma honours

Malayalam actor Mohanlal was conferred with the third highest civilian honour, Padma Bhushan; Bollywood actor Manoj Bajpayee, actor-choreographer Prabhu Deva and singer-composer Shankar Mahadevan were awarded the Padma Shri respectively.

Mohanlal has dedicated his Padma Bhushan honour to all the people who have contributed in his four-decade-long journey in films. The 58-year-old actor, who made his acting debut in 1978 with Thiranottam and went to establish himself as one of the most versatile performers, in an emotional social media post, said there are scores of people whose love and blessing keeps him motivated to deliver his best as an entertainer.

Bajpayee says his Padma Shri honour is a win for the people who believed in his talent and supported him throughout his cinematic journey. “The recognition from the government is very humbling. It is not only an honour for me alone but for everyone who had trust and conviction in Manoj Bajpayee, the actor. It is a validation for people who had confidence in my talent. I will continue to doing my best,” Bajpayee told Press Trust of India. He said the honour has come at a landmark moment in his career when he has completed 25 years in films.

Prabhu Deva also took to Twitter and said that he was “extremely honoured” to be presented with the award.

I feel extremely honoured for being conferred with the prestigious PADMASHRI AWARD🥇Heartfelt thanks 🙏

— Prabhudheva (@PDdancing) January 26, 2019

Mahadevan said he was “humbled and honoured.” He dedicated the award to his musical partners Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa, reports Asian News International.

Singer and Composer Shankar Mahadevan on being conferred Padma Sri award: Humbled and honoured, it motivates me further. It is one of the biggest civilian awards, don't know if I am worthy of it, but I am very happy. Dedicate it to all who worked with me including Ehsaan and Loy pic.twitter.com/o5i9zRBJce

— ANI (@ANI) January 26, 2019

Mohanlal will be next seen in Prithviraj Sukumaran’s directorial debut Lucifer and Priyadarshan’s Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham. Bajpayee’s new projects include Abhishek Chaubey’s Chambal-set dacoit drama Sonchiriya and Netflix film  Dhaka . Prabhu Deva’s upcoming films are Yung Mung Sung,  Pon Manickavel  and Dabangg 3 (as director).

(With inputs from agencies)