Mumbai: Bollywood playback singer Asha Bhosle, actress Madhuri Dixit and Hollywood-based director Manoj Night Shyamalan received the Padma Awards 2008 from the President of India on 26 January.
 
Bhosle received the Padma Vibhushan award, which is India’s second highest civilian honor. It consists of a medal and a citation. It is awarded to recognize exceptional and distinguished service to the nation in any field, including government service.
 
Dixit and Shyamalan were given the Padma Shri Award. Apart from these, film and theatre actor Tom Alter will also receive the Padma Shri award. In the music arena, Punjabi singer Hans Raj Hans also received the award.
 
The award is given to recognize a person’s distinguished contribution in various spheres of activity including the arts, education, industry, literature, science, sports, social service and public life. The Padma Shri stands fourth in the hierarchy of civilian awards after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan.
 
Some of the past receivers of the Padma Vibhushan are M.S. Subbulakshmi, Satyajit Ray, Ustad Bismillah Khan, Ravi Shankar, Birju Maharaj, M.F. Husain, Dr. V.Shantaram, Lata Mangeshkar, Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Pandit Jasraj, Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, Amjad Ali Khan and Hrishikesh Mukherjee amongst others.
 
On the other hand, from Bollywood, dignitaries like Nargis, Ashok Kumar, Ustad Bismillah Khan, Sunil Dutt, Vyjayanthimala, Balraj Sahni, SD Burman, Pankaj Udhas, and Shah Rukh Khan amongst others have been given the Padma Shri Award.