Actor Nandamuri Balakrishna received the prestigious Padma Bhushan award from Indian President Droupadi Murmu on Monday.
Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in India as a part of the Padma Awards. The Padma Bhushan is preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and is followed by the Padma Shri.
Nandamuri Balakrishna received the award for his contribution to the field of cinema for four decades. In addition to Nandamuri Balakrishna, the Padma Bhushan awardees for this year in arts were Tamil actor Ajith Kumar, Kannada actor Anant Nag, choreographer Jatin Goswami, singer Pankaj Udhas, filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, and actor-dancer Shobana.
Actor Nandamuri Balakrishna, who is the son of legendary Telugu actor and former Andhra Pradesh CM NT Rama Rao, made his acting debut in Tatamma Kala (1974) and his solo lead debut in Sahasame Jeevitham (1984). The actor's films are usually action-packed entertainers, but at the same time, he has proven his versatility with films such as Aditya 369 (1991), a sci-fi film; devotional films such as Sri Krishnarjuna Vijayam (1996), Pandurangadu (2008), and Sri Rama Rajyam (2011); and his acting in the role of his father in the latter's two-part biopic NTR: Kathanayakudu and NTR: Mahanayakudu (2019) was some of his best performances.
