Mumbai, January 29: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Akshay Kumar are amidst the Padma Shri award recipients this year for their contributions to the art and cinema.
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has definitely been the 'global' face of India for the past few years. Not only has she represented Bollywood abroad by working in cross-over cinema with international artists but has also been the brand ambassador of various international cosmetic giants. We are definitely not ignoring the brilliant performances the actor has rendered in Devdas, Provoked, Raincoat, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Guru and the most recent Jodhaa Akbar but its her international fame, addition in international desirability lists of women that grabs our attention the most and why shouldn't it... after all Ash was called as the 'most beautiful woman' in the world by Julia Roberts.
Actor Akshay Kumar will too receive the award this year and his track record at the box office, according to many, made it possible. His dare-devilry too could be another reason for the actor to be the chosen one but did Aishwarya and Akshay deserve to be the only two film stars to have been selected for the nation's highly coveted civilian award (the Padma Shri), for their contribution to arts and cinema? Especially when film personalities like Satyajit Ray, Nargis and Madhuri Dixit have been felicitated with this honour before?
"Ash and Akshay seemed a weird choice to me considering there are many more from cinema who deserve it than these two! I want to know how have they contributed to the Indian cinema! By doing brand endorsements and raking in huge amounts of money by doing international collaborations! Also why are the Olympic medalists missing from the list! Those athletes are more deserving than these two. It's just appalling", reacted a senior citizen.
"I guess the government wants to glamourize the awards like any other film award function thus they have chosen such people. I mean if they were serious they could have honoured talented actors who may not be big stars," reacted a youngster.
"I think too much has been said about this issue. Just because Ash and Akki are famous does not mean they are not talented," reverted a Bollywood insider.
With radio stations too playing fake speeches of Ash on their stations and making a mockery of the actress, looks like Ash and Akshay are in for a lot more criticism coming their way!
----Agencies
They have even found support from fellow Olympic hero Abhinav Bindra who has made it to the Padma Bushan list.
"Yes, I am disappointed to see that their names have been omitted," says Abhinav Bindra.
The controversy over this year's Padma awards goes beyond the sports category. Some feel that Aishwarya Rai got the honour because of the political affiliation of her in laws with the Samajwadi party. But the actress herself is unfazed.
"It's an absolute previlidge and honor and I am very thankful for this and I accept it graciously," says Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.
This is not the first time that the national honours have been mired in controversy.
Sitar Maestro Ustad Vilayat Khan rejected the Padma Shri in 1964 and the Padma Vibhushan in 1968, saying the awards committee wasn't competent enough to judge his music.
Historian Romila Thapar turned down the Padma Bhushan in 1992 and 2005 because she wanted to accept awards only from academic institutions.
And Kathak queen Sitara Devi refused the Padma Bhushan in 2002, saying it is an "insult" as younger and lesser known people had got Padma Vibhushan.
Bharat Ratnas too have had their share of controversies. The awards to V V Giri, K Kamaraj, MG Ramachandran and Rajiv Gandhi raised eyebrows.
Even renowned vocalist Pandit Jasraj alleged that the sitar maestro Ravi Shankar had approached influential MPs to secure the coveted award in 1999.
All these controversies have made people question the credibility of these awards.
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