Thiruvananthapuram

Malayalam cinema legend Mammootty met Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with his family shortly after being conferred the Padma Bhushan, India's third-highest civilian honour, during the second Civil Investiture Ceremony held in New Delhi on Tuesday.

The interaction between the veteran actor and the Prime Minister drew widespread attention, with both sharing warm messages on social media.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared photographs from the meeting and wrote, "Met the noted actor Mammootty and his family after the Padma ceremony earlier today."

Responding to the meeting, Mammootty expressed his gratitude, saying, "Grateful for this memorable interaction with Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji alongside my family. A moment to cherish forever."

Mammootty attended the ceremony with his wife Sulfath, daughter Surumi and actor-son Dulquer Salmaan. Earlier in the day, President Droupadi Murmu presented him with the Padma Bhushan in recognition of his outstanding contribution to Indian cinema.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, union Home Minister Amit Shah and several other dignitaries were present at the ceremony.

Reacting to the prestigious honour, Mammootty said he was "deeply humbled and honoured" to receive the Padma Bhushan and conveyed his heartfelt gratitude to the Government of India.

Describing the award as a reflection of his five-decade-long journey in cinema, the veteran actor said the recognition would not have been possible without the unwavering love, trust and support of his audience.
"An honour like this is a reflection of a five-decade-long journey that wouldn't exist without you, my incredible audience. Thank you for the endless love, trust and support that keeps me going every single day," he said.

Dedicating the Padma Bhushan to the world of cinema and to his countless admirers, Mammootty said the recognition belonged as much to the people who had stood by him throughout his illustrious career as it did to him, making it one of the most cherished moments of his life.

A total of 65 Padma Awards were presented during the ceremony, including one Padma Vibhushan, seven Padma Bhushan and 56 Padma Shri honours. Among the prominent awardees from Kerala were V. S. Achuthanandan and Vellappally Natesan.

Achuthanandan was posthumously honoured with the Padma Vibhushan, while former Supreme Court judge K. T. Thomas also received the Padma Vibhushan.

Celebrated playback singer Alka Yagnik was conferred the Padma Bhushan, while actor and filmmaker R. Madhavan received the Padma Shri. Actors Prosenjit Chatterjee and Satish Shah were also among those honoured with the Padma Shri.

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Former vice president M. Venkaiah Naidu, founder of Sulabh International Bindeshwar Pathak and a host of other prominent persons were conferred with Padma Awards by President Droupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday.

Naidu, Pathak, who was given the award posthumously, and renowned Bharatanatyam dancer Padma Subrahmanyam were conferred with the Padma Vibhushan. Pathak's wife Amola received the award from the President.

Actor Mithun Chakraborty, singer Usha Uthup, former Uttar Pradesh governor Ram Naik and industrialist Sitaram Jindal were conferred with the Padma Bhushan.

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, among others, were present at the function.

Gujarat-based cardiologist Tejas Madhusudan Patel, veteran Marathi film director Dattatray Ambadas Mayaloo alias Rajdutt and Chandreshwar Prasad Thakur, a distinguished Physician known globally for his contribution to research and policy on Kala Azar, were given the Padma Bhushan.

Padma Shri awardees include master carpet weaver from Uttar Pradesh Khalil Ahamad, Madhya Pradesh's folk singer Kaluram Bamaniya, Bangladeshi singer Rezwana Choudhury Bannya and Chikankari embroidery artist from Uttar Pradesh Naseem Bano.

Rajbongshi folk singer from West Bengal's Cooch Behar Gita Roy Barman, tennis player Rohan Bopanna, spiritual figure from Tripura Chitta Ranjan Debbarma, banker Kalpana Morparia, philanthropist Kiran Nadar, social worker from Haryana Gurvinder Singh and folk singer from Uttar Pradesh Urmila Srivastava were also given the Padma Shri.

The Padma Awards ceremony also witnessed some heartwarming moments.

One such moment was when noted folk dancer from Assam Drona Bhuyan made Ojapali and Deodhani dance form gestures to express his gratitude as he walked on the red carpet to receive the Padma Shri from the President.

While returning to his seat, he went to Modi and touched his feet, a gesture the prime minister reciprocated.

Bhuyan is a prominent Ojapali and Deodhani dancer from Darrang district in Assam, where he has been working to preserve a thousand-year-old tradition, performing stories from epics and Puranas.

The prime minister was also seen interacting with Tripura's spiritual leader Chitta Ranjan Debbarma, who was wearing a saffron attire.

Tribal farmer from Assam Sarbeswar Basumatary sat on his knees to express his gratitude before coming to accept the award from the President.

Padma Awards, one of the highest civilian honours of the country, are conferred in three categories—Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri.

The awards are given in various disciplines or fields of activities, viz.- art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc.

The Padma Vibhushan is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service, the Padma Bhushan for distinguished service of high order and the Padma Shri for distinguished service in any field.

The awards are announced on the eve of Republic Day every year.

For 2024, the President had approved conferment of 132 Padma awards, including two duo cases (in a duo case, the award is counted as one).

The list comprises five Padma Vibhushan, 17 Padma Bhushan and 110 Padma Shri awards.

As many as 30 of the awardees are women and the list also includes eight people from the category of Foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI and nine posthumous awardees.

While almost half of the awardees were conferred the awards on Monday, the remaining are likely to get them next week.