Padma Awards 2025 Highlights: Actor Nandamuri Balakrishna, Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, Ajith Kumar Receive Padma Bhushan

Fans of the Good Bad Ugly actor have been sharing photos and videos of him receiving the Padma Bhushan at Rashtrapati Bhavan, leading to #PadmaBhushanAjithKumar becoming a top trend on X.  

While Ajith Kumar walked towards the stage to receive his maiden Padma Bhushan, his wife Shalini, along with their son and daughter, cheered for him from the audience. Their reaction has now gone viral on social media. 

Popular Ghazal singer Pankaj Udhas was awarded Padma Bhushan posthumously. His wife, Farida Udhas, received the award on his behalf. 

Actor Ajith Kumar was honoured with Padma Bhushan while his wife and daughter cheered from the audeince. 

Daaku Maharaaj actor NBK, and Masoom filmmaker Shekar Kapur honoured with Padma Bhushan. 

Indian violinist Lakshminarayana Subramaniam was awarded with Padma Vibhushan. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar have arrived at the ceremony being held at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. 

Fans of Ajith Kumar have taken to their X (formerly Twitter) account to share video compilations of the actor throughout the years. Some have dubbed him ‘pride of Tamil Nadu’ and made several posts to show their support to the actor. 
 

The Padma Awards ceremony will commence at 6 PM on April 28. The event will be streamed live on Akashvani Gold, Indraprastha, AIR Live News24x7 and Akashvani AIR YouTube channel. 

On April 27, a day before the Padma awards ceremony, a special celebration was organised for actor Nandamuri Balakrishna in New Delhi. Photos from the bash are now viral on social media. 

The popular singer known for her Bhojpuri, Maithili and Hindi folk music and Chhath songs breathed her last on November 5 in New Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). The singer lost her life to a long battle with multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer, since 2017. She was lovingly called Bihar Kokila. 

Sharda Sinha was honoured with the Padma Shri in 1991 and Padma Bhushan in 2018 on the 69th Republic Day . 
 

Late musicians Sharda Sinha, Pankaj Udhas, Tamil superstar Ajith Kumar, veteran filmmaker Shekhar Kapur and singer Arijit Singh were among 139 recipients of the coveted Padma Awards for the year 2025, announced on the eve of Republic Day.

 Folk singer Sinha and noted Malayalam screenwriter-director MT Vasudevan Nair have been posthumously honoured with Padma Vibhushan, the second-highest civilian award for exceptional and distinguished service.

In January, when the Padma Bhushan recipients were announced, Ajith Kumar took to his X (formerly Twitter) account to write,  “I am deeply humbled and honoured to receive the esteemed Padma Award by the President of India. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to the Hon’ble President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu and the Honourable Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi for this prestigious honour. It is a privilege to be recognized at such a level and I am truly grateful for this generous acknowledgement of my contributions to our nation."
 

He added, “At the same time, I am mindful that this recognition is not just a personal accolade but a testament to the collective efforts and support of many. I would like to express my sincere thanks to the members of the film industry, including my distinguished seniors, various peers, and untold others. Your inspiration, collaboration, and support have been instrumental in my journey, including the pursuit of my passion in other areas as well."

The Padma awards, among the country's highest civilian honours, are conferred in three categories: Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Vibhushan.

The Padma Shri is the fourth-highest civilian award in India, after the Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan, and Padma Bhushan.

1. Adwaita Charan Gadanayak - Art
2. Achyut Ramchandra Palav - Art
3. Ajay V Bhatt - Science and Engineering
4. Anil Kumar Boro - Literature and Education
5. Arijit Singh - Art
6. Arundhati Bhattacharya - Trade and Industry
7. Arunoday Saha - Literature and Education
8. Arvind Sharma - Literature and Education
9. Ashok Kumar Mahapatra - Medicine
10. Ashok Laxman Saraf - Art
11. Ashutosh Sharma - Science and Engineering
12. Ashwini Bhide Deshpande - Art
13. Baijnath Maharaj - Others - Spiritualism
14. Barry Godfray John - Art
15. Begam Batool - Art
16. Bharat Gupt - Art
17. Bheru Singh Chouhan - Art
18. Bhim Singh Bhavesh - Social Work
19. Bhimavva Doddabalappa Shillekyathara - Art
20. Budhendra Kumar Jain - Medicine
21. CS Vaidyanathan - Public Affairs
22. Chaitram Deochand Pawar - Social Work
23. Chandrakant Sheth (Posthumous) - Literature and Education
24. Chandrakant Sompura - Others Architecture
25. Chetan E Chitnis - Science and Engineering
26. David R Syiemlich - Literature and Education
27. Durga Charan Ranbir - Art
28. Farooq Ahmad Mir - Art
29. Ganeshwar Shastri Dravid - Literature and Education
30. Gita Upadhyay - Literature and Education
31. Gokul Chandra Das - Art
32. Guruvayur Dorai - Art
33. Harchandan Singh Bhatty - Art
34. Hariman Sharma - Others - Agriculture
35. Harjinder Singh Srinagar Wale - Art
36. Harvinder Singh - Sports
37. Hassan Raghu - Art
38. Hemant Kumar - Medicine
39. Hriday Narayan Dixit - Literature and Education
40. Hugh and Colleen Gantzer (Posthumous) (Duo) - Literature and Education - Journalism
41. Inivalappil Mani Vijayan - Sports
42. Jagadish Joshila - Literature and Education
43. Jaspinder Narula - Art
44. Jonas Masetti - Others - Spiritualism
45. Joynacharan Bathari - Art
46. Jumde Yomgam Gamlin - Social Work
47. K Damodaran - Others - Culinary
48. KL Krishna - Literature and Education
49. K Omanakutty Amma - Art
50. Kishore Kunal (Posthumous) - Civil Service
51. L Hangthing - Others - Agriculture
52. Lakshmipathy Ramasubbaiyer - Literature and Education - Journalism
53. Lalit Kumar Mangotra - Literature and Education
54. Lama Lobzang (Posthumous) - Others - Spiritualism
55. Libia Lobo Sardesai - Social Work
56. MD Srinivas - Science and Engineering
57. Madugula Nagaphani Sarma - Art
58. Mahabir Nayak - Art
59. Mamata Shankar - Art
60. Manda Krishna Madiga - Public Affairs
61. Maruti Bhujangrao Chitampalli - Literature and Education
62. Miriyala Apparao (Posthumous) - Art
63. Nagendra Nath Roy - Literature and Education
64. Narayan (Bhulai Bhai) (Posthumous) - Public Affairs
65. Naren Gurung - Art
66. Neerja Bhatla - Medicine
67. Nirmala Devi - Art
68. Nitin Nohria - Literature and Education
69. Onkar Singh Pahwa - Trade and Industry
70. P Dhatchanamoorthy - Art
71. Pandi Ram Mandavi - Art
72. Parmar Lavjibhai Nagjibhai - Art
73. Pawan Goenka - Trade and Industry
74. Prashanth Prakash - Trade and Industry
75. Pratibha Satpathy - Literature and Education
76. Purisai Kannappa Sambandan - Art
77. R Ashwin - Sports
78. RG Chandramogan - Trade and Industry
79. Radha Bahin Bhatt - Social Work
80. Radhakrishnan Devasenapathy - Art
81. Ramdarash Mishra - Literature and Education
82. Ranendra Bhanu Majumdar - Art
83. Ratan Kumar Parimoo - Art
84. Reba Kanta Mahanta - Art
85. Renthlei Lalrawna - Literature and Education
86. Ricky Gyan Kej - Art
87. Sajjan Bhajanka - Trade and Industry
88. Sally Holkar - Trade and Industry
89. Sant Ram Deswal - Literature and Education
90. Satyapal Singh - Sports
91. Seeni Viswanathan - Literature and Education
92. Sethuraman Panchanathan - Science and Engineering
93. Sheikha Shaikha Ali Al-Jaber Al-Sabah - Medicine
94. Sheen Kaaf Nizam (Shiv Kishan Bissa) - Literature and Education
95. Shyam Bihari Agrawal - Art
96. Soniya Nityanand - Medicine
97. Stephen Knapp - Literature and Education
98. Subhash Khetulal Sharma - Others - Agriculture
99. Suresh Harilal Soni - Social Work
100. Surinder Kumar Vasal - Science and Engineering
101. Swami Pradiptananda (Kartik Maharaj) - Others - Spiritualism
102. Syed Ainul Hasan - Literature and Education
103. Tejendra Narayan Majumdar - Art
104. Thiyam Suryamukhi Devi - Art
105. Tushar Durgeshbhai Shukla - Literature and Education
106. Vadiraj Raghawendracharya Panchamukhi - Literature and Education
107. Vasudeo Kamath - Art
108. Velu Aasaan - Art
109. Venkappa Ambaji Sugatekar - Art
110. Vijay Nityanand Surishwar Ji Maharaj - Others - Spiritualism
111. Vijayalakshmi Deshmane - Medicine
112. Vilas Dangre - Medicine
113. Vinayak Lohani - Social Work

The Padma Bhushan 2025 recipients are: 

 

1. A Surya Prakash - Literature and Education -Journalism
2. Anant Nag - Art
3. Bibek Debroy (Posthumous) - Literature and Education
4. Jatin Goswami - Art
5. Jose Chacko Periappuram - Medicine
6. Kailash Nath Dikshit - Other Archaeology
7. Manohar Joshi (Posthumous) - Public Affairs
8. Nalli Kuppuswami Chetti - Trade and Industry
9. Nandamuri Balakrishna - Art
10. PR Sreejesh - Sports
11. Pankaj Patel - Trade and Industry
12. Pankaj Udhas (Posthumous) - Art
13. Rambahadur Rai - Literature and Education -Journalism
14. Sadhvi Ritambhara - Social Work
15. S Ajith Kumar - Art
16. Shekhar Kapur - Art
17. Shobana Chandrakumar - Art
18. Sushil Kumar Modi (Posthumous) - Public Affairs
19. Vinod Dham - Science and Engineering

This year the Padma Vibhushan recipients are: 
 

1. 1. Duvvur Nageshwar Reddy - Medicine
2. Justice (Retd.) Jagdish Singh Khehar - Public Affairs
3. Kumudini Rajnikant Lakhia - Art
4. Lakshminarayana Subramaniam - Art
5. MT Vasudevan Nair (Posthumous) - Literature and Education
6. Osamu Suzuki (Posthumous) - Trade and Industry (Japan)
7. Sharda Sinha (Posthumous) - Art

In the early morning of April 28, Tamil actor Ajith Kumar along with his wife Shalini Pandey and his children arrived in New Delhi.