Vyjayanthimala and Chiranjeevi conferred Padma Vibhushan by President Droupadi Murmu | Watch

Veteran actors Vyjayanthimala Bala and Konidela Chiranjeevi were bestowed the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian honour awarded for exceptional and distinguished service, on Thursday.

President Droupadi Murmu presented the awards to Vyjayanthimala, 90, and Chiranjeevi, 68, at a ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah among others, were present at the function.

Vyjayantimala, whose last Hindi film was 1970's ‘Ganwaar’, was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian honour, in 1968.

Regarded as one of Indian cinema's finest actors and dancers, Vyjayantimala ruled the Indian screens from 1950s and 1960s and has films, including ‘Devdas’, ‘Naya Daur’, ‘Aasha’, ‘Sadhna’, ‘Gunga Jumna’, ‘Sangam’ and ‘Jewel Thief’ to her credit. She has also starred in a few Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Bengali films.

Chiranjeevi, one of the reigning superstars from the South, has worked in over 150 feature films in Telugu as well as Hindi, Tamil and Kannada. Some of his popular films include ‘Rudra Veena’, ‘Indra’, ‘Tagore’, ‘Swayam Krushi’, ‘Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy’, ‘Stalin’ and ‘Gang Leader’.
His last big-screen appearance was 2023's ‘Bhola Shankar’ and will next be seen in ‘Vishwambhara’. The actor was honoured with the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian honour, in 2006.

Chiranjeevi's family including son Ram Charan also attended the ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan and cheered for his father among the audience.

Earlier on April 22, Veteran actor Mithun Chakraborty, singer Usha Uthup and a host of other prominent persons were conferred with Padma Awards by President Droupadi Murmu.

About Padma Awards

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.