Kamala Haasan, Vidya Balan among Padma winners

NEW DELHI: Noted actor-director Kamala Haasan and classical singer Begum Parveen Sultana have been selected for the prestigious Padma Bhushan award this year, while Bollywood actors Vidya Balan and Paresh Rawal will receive Padma Shri.

Haasan in a career spanning more than five decades, has over 190 films to his credit, across genres and languages like Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam.

His most famous work is in Tamil cinema in films like 'Moondram Pirai' and 'Nayagan'. Haasan, 59, has also given memorable hits in Bollywood like 'Hey Ram', 'Sadma', 'Chachi 420' and 'Ek Duje Ke Liye'.

Sultana, 63, a classical singer of the Patiala Gharana, and well-known Tamil lyricist-writer Vairamuthu have also been chosen for Padma Bhushan, which is India's third highest civilian award.

National award-winning actress Vidya Balan, 36, has been selected for Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award. She is known for portraying strong female protagonists in films like 'Paa', 'Ishqiya', 'No One Killed Jessica', 'The Dirty Picture' and 'Kahaani'.

Veteran Bollywood actor Paresh Rawal, also a Padma Shri winner, has starred in films like 'Road to Sangam', 'Oh My God', 'Hera Pheri', 'Sir' and 'Sardar'.

The list also includes Goa-based designer Wendell Rodricks, veteran Bengali actresses Sabitri Chatterjee, Supriya Devi and writer-director Sooni Taraporvala.

Taraporvala, a longtime collaborator of Mira Nair, has written the script of Oscar-nominated 'Salaam Bombay', 'The Namesake' and 'Mississippi Masala'.

Also receiving the Padma Shri are eminent tabla player Vijay Ghate, theatre personality Bansi Kaul, filmmaker and cinematographer Santosh Sivan, theatre personality Mohammad Ali Baig, TV actress Nayana Apte Joshi, musician Musafir Ram Bhardwaj, Manipuri dancer Elam Endira Devi, Kathak dancer from Bengal Rani Karnaa, film animator Ram Mohan and dancer Kalamandalam Sathyabhama.