Padma Awards 2022 announced: Padma Shri for Sonu Nigam, Padma Bhushan for Victor Banerjee

Padma Awards for 2022 were announced on Tuesday evening. Among the 128 recipients of the honours this year are veteran actor Victor Banerjee, singer Sonu Nigam, and filmmaker Chandraprakash Dwivedi.

The names of 128 recipients of Padma Awards were confirmed by President Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday. Among the awardees this year are veteran actor Victor Banerjee, playback singer Sonu Nigam, and filmmaker Chandraprakash Dwivedi.

Sonu Nigam and Victor Banerjee are among the recipients of Padma Awards this year.

Victor Banerjee was awarded the Padma Bhushan for his services to art and cinema. The veteran actor has appeared in Hindi, Bengali and English-language films for close to four decades, winning the National Award for Ghare Baire. He is one of the few Indian actors to have been nominated for the prestigious BAFTA Awards, a nod he earned for his performance in David Lean's A Passage to India (1984).

Sonu Nigam, one of the recipients of Padma Shri this year, is one of the leading singers of his generation. After making his foray with stage shows in early 1990s, Sonu made it big with playback in Hindi films towards the latter part of the decade. He has sung over 5000 songs in various languages, winning one National Award in the process. Apart from his various Indian awards and accomplishments, Sonu was also ranked the Number 1 artist on the US Billboard Uncharted charts twice in 2013.

The Padma Awards are among the highest civilian honours of the country, given out by the Government of India. The awards, announced annually on the eve of Republic Day, are given in three categories: Padma Vibhushan (for exceptional and distinguished service), Padma Bhushan (distinguished service of higher order) and Padma Shri (distinguished service).

The award seeks to recognise achievements in all fields of activities or disciplines where an element of public service is involved. The awards have been given annually since 1954.