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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.

Mumbai, Jun 8: Veteran writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar has won the 2020 Richard Dawkins Award for critical thinking, holding religious dogma up to scrutiny, advancing human progress and humanist values.

Akhtar has become the first Indian to be given the honour, which recognises a distinguished individual from the field of science, scholarship, education, or entertainment, who publicly proclaims the values of secularism and rationalism and upholding scientific truth.

Akhtar's wife, veteran actor Shabana Azmi said the award's relevance becomes more prominent especially in the current times when secularism is under attack.

"I am thrilled. I know what a hero Richard Dawkins has been for Javed. The award gains all the more significant because in today’s time when secularism is being attacked by religious fundamentalists of all hues, this award comes as a validation of Javed’s long service to rational thinking," Azmi told PTI.

The award is named after world-renowned English evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins. Actor-comedian Ricky Gervais received the honour last year.

Bollywood celebrities Anil Kapoor and Dia Mirza took to Twitter to congratulate the 75-year-old writer for the recognition.

"Knowing that Richard Dawkins has been your hero since you read 'The Selfish Gene', the prestigious Richard Dawkins Award must be extra special for you @Javedakhtarjadu Saab! It's a truly incredible honour! Congratulations!" Kapoor tweeted.

Dia said Akhtar's win is a proud moment for rhe country.

"Javed Akhtar Saab has won the prestigious Richard Dawkins Award 2020 for critical thinking, holding religious dogma upto scrutiny, advancing human progress and humanist values. He is the only Indian to have won this award! @Javedakhtarjadu Congratulations! You make us proud," Dia wrote.

Mumbai, Jul 25: Movie theatres have been shuttered for months due to the coronavirus pandemic in the country, but the Information and Broadcasting Ministry has now recommended that the Union Home Ministry allow cinema halls to reopen in August. 

I&B Secretary Amit Khare indicated this at a close-door industry interaction with the CII Media Committee on Friday. He said Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla at the Home Ministry would take the final call.

Khare said that he has recommended that cinema halls may be allowed to reopen all over India as early as August 1, or at the latest, around August 31.

The formula suggested is that alternate seats in the first row and then the next row be kept vacant, and proceeding in this fashion throughout.

Khare said that his ministry's recommendation takes into consideration the two metre social distancing norm, but tweaks it gently to two yards instead. The Home Ministry, however, still has to revert on the recommendation.

Cinema owners, present in the interaction, however, pushed back and said this formula is unwise and merely running films at 25% auditorium capacity is worse than keeping the cinemas shut.

The attendees at the meet included media CEOs like N.P. Singh of Sony, Sam Balsara (Madison), Megha Tata, (Discovery), Gaurav Gandhi (Amazon Prime), Manish Maheshwari (Twitter), S. Sivakumar (Bennett Coleman and Co Ltd), and K Madhavan, Star & Disney, and also Chairman, CII Media Committee.

The OTT platforms present, including Gandhi of Amazon Prime, did not push back. Some Bollywood producers, notably those of Amitabh Bachchan's Gulabo Sitabo, have posted their movies on OTT, rather than live out the lockdown uncertainty.