Nana Patekar, Ramesh Sippy and Sudha Malhotra awarded Padma Shri

Zeenews Bureau

New Delhi: Intense actor Nana Patekar, ‘Sholay’ director Ramesh Sippy and playback singer par-excellence Sudha Malhotra have all been awarded the Padma Shri on the eve of the 64th Republic Day parade. Nana Patekar began his illustrious acting career back in 1978 with ‘Gaman’ and has, since then, played a range of roles with varied shades of brilliance and even won the National Award thrice. He is also quite the presence in the Marathi film and theatre scene. His love for movies has stretched beyond the screen though as he’s tried his hand at directing with ‘Prahaar’. Ramesh Sippy will always be best known for directing ‘Sholay’, but he made his debut with a quirky romantic-drama called ‘Andaaz’ in 1971, which went on to become a massive hit. Four years later he made ‘Sholay’ and the cult following it has created and the impact and longevity of it is possibly the greatest monument to his phenomenal contribution to Indian cinema. Sudha Malhotra is best known for her voice in songs from ‘Dhool Ka Phool’ and ‘Prem Rog’, but she made her debut with ‘Mil Gaye Nahin’ in the 1965 Bollywood film ‘Aarzoo’. She has also composed some of her own songs such as ‘Tum Mujhe Bhool Bhi Jao’. (With inputs from IANS)