I'll happily accept Padma award: Paranjpe

"I received a telegram from Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil today. I would accept the award," the film director said.

Noted film maker Sai Paranjpe on Friday said she would "very happily" accept the Padma Bhushan award conferred on her and dismissed media reports over turning down the prestigious award.

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"I do not not know how this whole controversy over my so-called turning down the award came about. I never told anybody that I will reject the award," she said in Mumbai.

"I received a telegram from Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil today. I would accept the award," Paranjpe said.

She, however, declined to reveal contents of the Union Home Minister's missive, saying that was a personal matter.

Asked to comment on the controversy in a section of media over her alleged decision to turn down the award, she said: "You people (media) only create such controversies and later on, you want me to clarify on things I did not say."

After the prestigious award was announced, media reports had said Paranjpe would not be accepting the award as she was "upset that the honour was coming so late in her career".

In a career spanning three decades, Paranjpe has directed critically acclaimed films like the evergreen comedy Chashme Baddoor (1981), Sparsh (1984) and Saaz (1998).