Bollywood singer Sonu Nigam was conferred with one of the India’s highest civilian honours, the Padma Shrion March 28. Meanwhile, veteran Bengali actor Victor Banerjee was conferred with the Padma Bhushan award.
The honours were presented by President Ram Nath Kovind at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. Sonu Nigam and Victor Banerjee are among the 35 people who were conferred with the Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan Awards under the Arts category in 2022.
Sonu Nigam, who has had a stellar career in Bollywood, has sung thousands of songs over the years. The announcement of the award was made earlier in January this year.
In his statement, the singer said he was grateful for the award. “January 25 was a rather special day for me and my family. I’m very thankful to the Government of India for thinking of me as a deserving candidate and bestowing me the Padma Shri. My heartfelt thanks to all those who selected me and suggested my name for this prestigious honour ,” he had said, adding, “Der aaye durust aaye. (Better late than never)”.
The list of 128 Padma Awards comprises four Padma Vibhushan, 17 Padma Bhushan, and 107 Padma Shri awards. Out of the 128 awardees, 34 are women. The list also includes 10 persons from the category of Foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI and 13 posthumous awardees.
