Padma Vibhushan for Rajinikanth, Priyanka, Kher Padma winners

New Delhi :-Bollywood Superstar Rajinikanth and classical singer Girija Devi were today chosen for Padma Vibhushan, India’s second highest civilian award, while Anupam Kher, Udit Narayan, Priyanka Chopra and Ajay Devgn are among other Padma Vibhushan from Bollywood. 65-year-old Rajinikanth, one of the most celebrated actors of his generations with fans according him the status of a demi-god, is already a achiever of Padma Bhushan. Responding to the announcement, his daughter Soundarya said , Appa is now Padma vibhushan shri Rajinikanth. Since making his debut with K Balachander’s “Aboorva Ragangal” in 1975, the actor saw a steady rise to stardom, which continues even today. Devi, 86, already a Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan achiever, is known as thumri queen for popularising the genre. Anupam Kher, known for his outstanding character roles in a career spanning over three decades, will receive Padma Bhushan with Narayan, who ruled Bollywood playback singing in the ‘80s and ‘90s. “Today the son of an exiled Kashmiri Pandit, who worked as a clerk in the forest department of a small town, has received the coveted Padma Bhushan in recognition of his hard work. Thank you my country,” Kher tweeted. Both Kher and Narayan are already Padma Shri winners. Actors Ajay Devgn and Priyanka Chopra, 33, have been named for Padma Shri awards, besides a posthumous Padma Shri for actor Saeed Jaffrey. Priyanka, who won the National award for “Fashion”, has turned up critically acclaimed performances in movies like “Kaminey”, “Agneepath”, “Barfi!”, “Mary Kom” and “Bajirao Mastani”. Jaffrey, who passed away last year, starred in as many as 100 Hindi films, including acclaimed projects like Satyajit Ray’s “Shatranj Ke Khiladi”, “Gandhi” and “My Beautiful Laundrette”. The Padma awards, which are announced on the eve of the Republic Day, are conferred by the President at a function in Rashtrapati Bhawan in March/April every year.