Padma awards for Sharmila, Rajesh Khanna, Sridevi

NEW DELHI: Bollywood reaped a rich harvest at this years Padma awards with Sharmila Tagore, Sridevi, Nana Patekar and Ramesh Sippy besides Rajesh Khanna and Jaspal Bhatti (both posthumously) among a galaxy of film personalities to be chosen in different categories.

While the third highest civilian honour of Padma Bhushan went to Tagore, Khanna and satirist Bhatti, Sridevi, Patekar and Sippy, who gave a number of blockbusters including "Sholay", were named for Padma Shri.

Khanna, who died on July 18 last year, and Tagore were arguably the most celebrated on-screen couple who ruled Bollywood for a long time.

Bhatti, who died in a road accident in October last year, was known for his witty and wry humour through his television serials. He also acted in many Bollywood films.

Sridevi recently made a successful comeback to the big screen after a long hiatus with the film "English Vinglish".

The other recipients of Padma Bhushan are multilingual film producer Ramanaidu Daggubati, playback singer Sreeramamurthy Janaki, Mohiniyattom exponent Kanak Rele, Bharatnatyam dancer Saroja Vaidyanathan and Hindustani vocalist Abdul Rashid Khan.

Sufi Singer Bharati Bandhu, theatre personalities B Jayashree and Surabhi Babji, classical singer Jaymala Shiledar, tabla player Suresh Dattatray Talwalkar, actor Madhavan Nair, cameraman Apurba Kishore Bir, playback singer Sudha Malhotra, Kashmiri sufi singer Ghulam Mohammad Saznawaz, theatre director Balwant Thakur and Baul singer Puran Das Baul were named for Padma Shri.