Padma awards 2026: Dharmendra honoured with posthumous Padma Vibhushan, Mammootty and Alka Yagnik get Padma Bhushan
Padma awards 2026: President Droupadi Murmu on Monday presented the Padma Awards 2026 during a grand ceremony held at Ganatantra Mandap in Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi. The event was attended by Vice President CP Radhakrishnan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and several other dignitaries.
Veteran Bollywood star Dharmendra was posthumously conferred the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian honour. The actor, who passed away in November 2025, was represented at the ceremony by his wife and actor-politician Hema Malini, who received the award on his behalf. She appeared emotional while accepting the honour.
#WATCH | Delhi | Padma Vibhushan awarded to legendary veteran actor late Dharmendra by President Droupadi Murmu
BJP MP Hema Malini received the honour awarded to her late husband and legendary actor for his contribution in the field of Arts
(Video source: President of… pic.twitter.com/HglPJJAXRl
— ANI (@ANI) May 25, 2026
The official citation described Dharmendra as one of the Hindi film industry’s most successful and versatile actors, popularly remembered as Bollywood’s “He-Man”. Over a career spanning decades, he featured in nearly 300 films and left a lasting impact on Indian cinema. He had earlier been awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2012.
In the field of arts, legendary Malayalam actor Mammootty, renowned playback singer Alka Yagnik and noted advertising personality Piyush Pandey were honoured with the Padma Bhushan. Piyush Pandey was awarded posthumously and his wife Nita Pandey accepted the honour during the ceremony. Mammootty and Alka Yagnik are expected to receive their awards at a later stage.
Several prominent names from the entertainment industry were also selected for the Padma Shri, including actors R Madhavan, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Satish Shah, Murali Mohan and Rajendra Prasad. Madhavan was not present at Monday’s ceremony.
The Padma Awards are among the country’s highest civilian honours and are given in recognition of exceptional contributions across fields such as art, literature, education, science, medicine, social work, sports, trade and public affairs.
This year, the government announced five Padma Vibhushan awards, 13 Padma Bhushan honours and 113 Padma Shri awards. During Monday’s ceremony, the President presented two Padma Vibhushans, six Padma Bhushans and 58 Padma Shri awards. The remaining honours will be conferred during the second phase of the ceremony scheduled later this year.
The Padma Awards 2026 were officially announced earlier in January on the occasion of Republic Day.
- With inputs from agencies
