Actor and Member of Parliament, Hema Malini was on Sunday conferred with the ‘Naushad Samman’ for her expertise in Indian Classical dance.
UP tourism minister Rita Bahuguna Joshi and technical education minister Ashutosh Tandon gave away the award.
Receiving the award, Hema Malini said, “Naushad saheb took music to new heights. And getting an award named after him means a lot.” The actor said new-age Bollywood music is fine, but it was the music of yesteryears that gave Bollywood a unique identity.
“There used to be a lot of meaning in lyrics and music composed by legendary composers of yesteryears,” she added. Before Hema Malini, others who received the award were music composer Kalyanji Anand Ji, Khayyam, sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan.
The actor, however, did not answer any question on the controversy over the film ‘Padmavati’.
Talking about her fitness, she said, “Since I dance and practice regularly, it keeps me fit. Even today, I do at least four dance shows.” The MP said she visited Lucknow many times in the past and the city is very close to her heart.