“Happy and humbled”: Vyjayanthimala Bali on being conferred Padma Vibhushan

After receiving the Padma Vibhushan award, veteran actor Vyjayanthimala Bali expressed her happiness.
Vyjayanthimala received the award in the field of Art from President Droupadi Murmu in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
The ceremony took place at Rashtrapati Bhavan in the national capital.
After attending the ceremony, Vyjayantimala spoke with ANI and expressed her happiness.
She said, “I have to thank my god for his compassion, kindness, and mercy… It’s our Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji and the Government of India who have recognised my art- dance as well as films. I received the Padma Shri in 1969, and now Padma Vibhushan is a very big thing. I am happy and humbled to receive this award.”
Recently, the legendary actress met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Chennai.
Taking to X, PM Modi shared pictures from her meeting with Vyjayanthimala. In one of the images, PM Modi can be seen greeting Vyjayanthimala with folded hands.
“Glad to have met Vyjayanthimala Ji in Chennai. She has just been conferred the Padma Vibhushan and is admired across India for her exemplary contribution to the world of Indian cinema,” he wrote.
Vyjayanthimala made her screen debut at the age of 16 with the Tamil film Vaazhkai (1949). ‘Devdas’, ‘Sangam’, ‘Madhumanti’ and ‘Naya Daur’ are some of her iconic films.
Padma Awards, one of the highest civilian Awards of the country, are conferred in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri.
The Awards are given in various disciplines and fields of activities like art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc.
‘Padma Vibhushan’ is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service, ‘Padma Bhushan’ for distinguished service of high order and ‘Padma Shri’ for distinguished service in any field. The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year.