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Mumbai, Jan 26: Filmmakers Karan Johar, Ekta Kapoor and actor Kangana Ranaut are among the six cinema personalities to be awarded the Padma Shri, officials said on Saturday.

Singers Suresh Wadkar and Adnan Sami as well as veteran TV actor Sarita Joshi have also been conferred with the fourth highest civilian honour of the country.

Karan and Ekta said they were humbled to receive the honour.

"Overwhelmed by so many emotions right now. Humbled, elated and also thankful for the opportunity to live my dream everyday, to create and to entertain. I know my father would be proud and I wish he was here to share this moment with me," he said in a statement posted on Twitter.

Son of veteran Bollywood producer late Yash Johar, Karan Johar started his career as a director in Hindi cinema with the 1998 hit Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.

The 47-year-old, who runs Dharma Productions, went on to direct several commercial blockbusters in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001), My Name Is Khan (2010), Student of the Year (2012) and Ae Dil Hai Mushkil among others.

Karan has also produced several critically-acclaimed films -- Wake Up Sid, Agneepath, Hasee Toh Phasee, Kapoors & Sons and Raazi.

Ekta, who started her showbiz journey with soap operas, most notably Kyunki Saas Bhi Bahu Thi, is the daughter of veteran actor Jeetendra.

She launched her banner Balaji Telefilms in 1994 and backed many popular TV shows, eventually branching out into movie production.

Ekta, 44, has produced films such as Love Sex Aur Dhoka, Once Upon a Time in Mumbai, The Dirty Picture, Udta Punjab and Veere Di Wedding.

"My foray into the industry started when I was just 17. I constantly heard I was 'too young', 'too raw' and it was 'too soon' to make things happen. Through the years I've realised it's never 'too soon' to live out your dreams and being 'too young' is probably the best thing," she said.

"Today, as l'm conferred with the 4th highest civilian honour- Padma Shri', I'm humbled. I hope to continue breaking boundaries, to continue giving young talent a chance and to strive to give back to the country for all the love that's come my way.

The timing couldn't have been more perfect, as this news arrives 2 days before my son's first birthday. Grateful & Thankful!" she added.

Kangana, a three-time National Award Winner, is the only Bollywood actor to receive the Padma Shri this year.

The 32-year-old, who made her debut in movies in 2006 with Gangster, is regarded as one of the most successful female artistes of this generation.

After a series of films with Mahesh Bhatt's banner, she found success with Madhur Bhandarkar's Fashion, for which she won her first National Film Award in 2009.

She went on to win two back-to-back National Film Awards for her performances in Queen (2014) and Tanu Weds Manu Returns (2015). Kangana's latest release is Panga.

Wadkar, 64, a veteran in the music industry, started his career as a playback singer in 1978 with song Seene mein jalan for Gaman. He has lent his voice to memorable tracks like Aye zindagi gale lagaa le, Aur is dil mein, Pardesi pardesi, Sapne mein, Raat ke dhai baje and Jag Ja.

In his over four-decade-long career, Wadkar has collaborated with celebrated composers RD Burman, Shiv-Hari, Ilayaraja, Khayyam, AR Rahman, Bappi Lahiri, Vishal Bhardwaj and Hridayanath Mangeshkar.

Sami, 48, now an Indian-citizen, made a mark for himself in country's indie-pop scene with single Kabhi toh nazar milao, for which he collaborated with veteran playback singer Asha Bhosle.

"The greatest moment for any Artiste is to be appreciated & recognised by his/her government. I am overwhelmed with infinite gratitude for being honoured with the 'Padma Shri' by the Government of India. It has been a 34 years musical journey.. 'Bohot Shukriya'!!" Sami tweeted.

He released various albums in the early 2000s and also served as music composer for films Lucky: No Time for Love (2005), Dhamaal (2007) and Shaurya (2008).

Sami, born in London to a Pakistani Air force veteran, applied for Indian citizenship in 2015 and became a citizen of the country in January 2016.

Joshi, a household name and a popular theatre personality, started her acting career as a child artiste and made her TV debut in 1980s with Titliyan.

Some of her most iconic shows are Hasratein , Ek Mahal Ho Sapno Ka , Baa Bahoo Aur Baby and Bh Se Bhade.

Joshi, 78, has also featured in movies such as Nazar , Darna Zaroori Hai , Dasvidaniya , Singham Returns and Simmba.

She was bestowed with the Sangeet Natak Akademi award for acting in Gujarati in 1988.

"I am very happy and humbled with this honour. I am working from an early age, I have never worked for awards, for me work is worship. I have always worked from heart and given my best in whatever I have done. I will be known as Padma Shri Sarita Joshi, this is such a big honour. I am happy as my children are happy," Joshi told PTI.

The Padma Shri for this year has been awarded to a total of 118 eminent personalities across fields of art, literature and education, medicine, trade and industry, sports, public affairs, social work and science and engineering.

Washington, Feb 19: Popular Indian-American stand-up comedian Hasan Minhaj, who has been critical of both US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, would perform at the annual dinner of the White House Correspondents Association.

Hasan Minhaj, whose parents come from Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh, will serve as the entertainer at the event.

Kenan Thompson, the actor, and longest-tenured Saturday Night Live cast-member will serve as the host for the annual White House Correspondents Association's (WHCA) dinner on April 25.

"Hasan Minhaj, the Peabody award-winning host of Netflix's Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj, will return to the dinner as featured entertainer," the WHCA announced.

"Kenan and Hasan are two of the most engaged and engaging entertainers in America. I'm thrilled they'll help us celebrate the role of a free press in our democracy," said Jonathan Karl, Chief White House Correspondent for ABC News and president of the WHCA.

"We're looking forward to a lively evening honouring the most important political journalism of the past year," he said.

President Trump who has skipped the WHCA dinner for the last three years is unlikely to attend this time as well.

Hasan Minhaj has hosted his Netflix show since 2018, drawing critics' raves, including a Peabody award in 2019, for his humorous and informed examination of issues of domestic and global import.

He was the entertainer at the 2017 WHCA Dinner when he was a senior correspondent on The Daily Show. His one-hour Netflix comedy special Hasan Minhaj: Homecoming King was released in 2017, for which he won his first Peabody Award in 2018.

Kenan Thompson began his career as a member of Nickelodeon's sketch series All That. Kenan Thompson is currently in his 17th season on SNL where he has set a record for the most celebrity impressions performed on the show.

In 2018, he received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics and a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.

At its annual dinner, WHCA will be presenting two new awards at the 2020 dinner: The Katharine Graham Award for Courage and Accountability and the Award for Excellence in Presidential News Coverage by Visual Journalists.

These are in addition to the longstanding Aldo Beckman Award for Overall Excellence in White House Coverage and Merriman Smith Award for Excellence in Presidential News Coverage Under Deadline Pressure.

This year's dinner will also include the inaugural presentation of the Collier Prize for State Government Accountability, administered by the University of Florida''s College of Journalism and Communications to recognize outstanding statehouse reporting.

Los Angeles, Jul 14: US officials on Monday found the body of "Glee" actress Naya Rivera in the Californian lake where she drowned last week during a boat trip with her four-year-old son.

Rivera's body was retrieved and an initial examination found no evidence of foul play or suicide, Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub told a press conference.

"We are confident the body we found is that of Naya Rivera," said Ayub, pointing to the location, appearance, clothing and condition of the body.

Her body was being taken to a medical examiner's office for a full autopsy and confirmation of her identity from dental records, though no other missing persons have been reported at Lake Piru, he added.

Rivera, 33, is believed to have accidentally drowned after renting the boat with her young son at the camping and recreational hotspot around an hour's drive northwest of Los Angeles.

She vanished on Wednesday afternoon, and a massive search involving divers, patrol boats and helicopters was launched after her sleeping son was spotted drifting alone in a boat on the lake.

The son later told investigators that Rivera had helped him into the boat before "he looked back and saw her disappear under the surface of the water," said the sheriff.

Ayub pointed to the lake's strong currents as a possible cause of a fatal accident.

"The idea perhaps being that the boat started drifting -- it was unanchored -- and that she mustered enough energy to get her son back onto the boat, but not enough to save herself," he said.

The lake has been closed to the public since Wednesday, with around 100 personnel, including the US Coast Guard and rescuers from neighboring counties, joining the search.

Search teams used footage from video messaging calls Rivera made from the boat before her disappearance, as well as interviews with her son, to scour portions of the lake bed for her remains over six days, with no success.

"We believe she was concealed within some of the shrubbery on the floor bed of the lake" before eventually floating to the surface due to natural decomposition, said Ayyub.

With less than one foot (30 centimeters) of visibility underwater in daylight, the recovery operation was a "complex search effort" even with use of sonar equipment, he said.

Rivera was best known for her role as high school cheerleader Santana Lopez in "Glee."

She starred for six seasons in the wildly popular musical television series set in a US high school that ended in 2015.

The "Glee" cast has been struck by tragedy before.

Actor Mark Salling took his own life in 2018, weeks before being sentenced for possession of child pornography.

Canadian castmate Cory Monteith died in July 2013 of an overdose of drugs and alcohol.