Actors Ajith Kumar and Shobhana Chandrakumar, and textile businessman Nalli Kuppuswamy Chetti will be the three recipients from Tamil Nadu to receive the prestigious Padma Bhushan award, the Union government announced on January 25. Also, cricketer R Ashwin will be awarded a Padma Shri.
Earlier this month, Ajith had returned to his longtime pursuit of racing and came in third at the Dubai 24H event. His next film, alongside Trisha—Vidaamuyarchi—is set to release in February.
Shobhana will soon be seen alongside actor Mohanlal in the Malayalam film Thudaram directed by Tharun Moorthy. The film also stars Farhaan Faasil.
Other notable Padma Shri awardees from Tamil Nadu will include percussion artist Velu Asaan, who plays the parai, and thavil performer Datchinamurthi.
In total, seven people are to be awarded the Pamda Vibhushan—the second highest civilian award in India—including one of Kerala’s most celebrated writers MT Vasudevan Nair, who passed away in December 2024.