To say that awards and controversies go hand-in-hand would be stating the obvious. And this Republic Day, when the Padma awards &mdash; the country's top civilian honours after Bharat Ratna &mdash; were announced, it was but expected that emotions would run high and storms created in teacups.
<img title="Amitabh Bachchan and Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2015/jan/29-Big-B-Mamta.jpg" alt="Amitabh Bachchan and Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee" /> Amitabh Bachchan and Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee
While writer Salim Khan refused to accept the Padma Shri saying it was too little, too late, an intense debate has been raging over those who were acknowledged and those overlooked. Taking the discussion a notch further was West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who has rarely shied away from heaping praises on Kolkata's jamai babu, Amitabh Bachchan. After Big B received the Padma Bhushan this year, Didi took to social media to declare that he deserved the Bharat Ratna. To this, Sr Bachchan replied: "@MamataOfficial Mamata di... I am not deserving of such recognition... Most humbled and honoured by what the Nation has given me..!!"
<img title="Salim Khan," src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2015/jan/29-Salim-Khan.jpg" alt="Salim Khan," /> Salim Khan Against this backdrop, hitlist takes a look at some other film celebs who became a talking point after they were conferred government awards in the recent as well as distant past&hellip;
<img title="Rekha" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2015/jan/29-Rekha.jpg" alt="Rekha" /> Rekha Dark secrets One of Amitabh Bachchan's finest roles was arguably in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 'Black' (2005), which won three National Awards. However, jury member Shyamali Deb Banerjee challenged the decision in court. In her petition, she mentioned that the awards were rigged and 'Black' did not qualify for the Best Film category as it was an adaptation of the 1962 English feature film, 'The Miracle Worker'. As a result, the awards were put on hold by the Delhi High Court and were next announced only in 2007.
<img title="Lata Mangeshka" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2015/jan/29-Lata-Mangeshkar.jpg" alt="Lata Mangeshka" /> Lata Mangeshkar Bouquets-n-brickbats Rekha won the National Award for her portrayal of a courtesan in 'Umrao Jaan' (1981) and found herself at the receiving end of criticism as she pipped Jennifer Kendal, the leading lady of Arpana Sen's '36 Chowringhee Lane'. Some of their contemporaries argued that Jennifer deserved the award more than Rekha&mdash;one of them was Jennifer's husband, actor Shashi Kapoor.
<img title="Raveena Tandon" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2015/jan/29-Raveena-Tandon.jpg" alt="Raveena Tandon" /> Raveena Tandon Fight for honour Saif Ali Khan was conferred the Padma Shri in 2010, but there was strong buzz that the government would withdraw the honour after an RTI activist filed a petition against it last year. The activist alleged that it was a mockery of the award as the actor was involved in a brawl at a city five-star and briefly arrested for the same. However, the actor did not have to part with the Padma award. Saif had courted another controversy a few years ago when he won the National Award in 2005 for 'Hum Tum' despite doing a run-of-the-mill role. His detractors pointed out that his award had a lot to do with the fact that his mother and veteran actress Sharmila Tagore was the censor board chairperson then.
<img title="Anil Kapoor" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2015/jan/29-Anil-Kapoor.jpg" alt="Anil Kapoor" /> Anil Kapoor My actor's the best When Ajay Devgn won the National Award for 'Gangaajal' (2003), filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan raised objections. He stated that the film's director Prakash Jha was heading the jury that selected the actor for the award. Gopalakrishnan labelled it as a "biased" decision.
<img title="Saif Ali Khan" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2015/jan/29-Saif-Ali-Khan.jpg" alt="Saif Ali Khan" /> Saif Ali Khan It's all relative Anil Kapoor and Raveena Tandon won the National Award for 'Pukar' (2000) and 'Daman' (2001), respectively, triggering a fiery debate over the selection criteria. It was said that a few political leaders were involved in the decision. Moreover, Raveena's uncle and actor Mac Mohan being part of the selection committee also raised eyebrows.
<img title="Ajay Devgn " src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2015/jan/29-Ajay.jpg" alt="Ajay Devgn " /> Ajay Devgn That sounds like... Bollywood actress Kirron Kher won the National Award for a Bengali movie titled 'Bariwali' (2000), but many pointed out that she didn't deserve the honour as her dialogues had been dubbed. But her actor-husband Anupam Kher, who produced the film, claimed it was indeed Kirron's voice in the film. The actress, too, defended herself saying that she was the voice behind her character and had put in a lot of effort to rehearse the dialogues.
<img title="Kirron Kher" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2015/jan/29-Kirron-Kher.jpg" alt="Kirron Kher" /> Kirron Kher Note of dissent Legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar found herself in the midst of a controversy when she recommended her sister Usha Mangeshkar's name for Padma Shri. This was revealed in 2013 when an RTI application was made public. She, however, clarified her stand saying that she had been recommending names for Padma awards every year on government request. She also commented that there was no harm in suggesting her sister's name who had contributed to the industry for more than five decades with songs in various languages as part of her repertoire. But Usha was not conferred the honour. That very year, politician Janardhan Chandurkar requested the government to take back Lata's awards as she had allegedly voiced support for Narendra Modi, whom he dubbed an "anti-secular" leader.

Taking cue from Big B's statement that he doesn't deserve Bharat Ratna as suggested by Mamata Banerjee, we&nbsp;recall some controversies over government honours bestowed on celebs

When Bollywood celebs courted controversies over govt honours

Trending Stories

Latest Photos

Latest Videos

Latest Web Stories

Mid-Day Fast

Home / Entertainment / Bollywood News / Article / When Bollywood celebs courted controversies over govt honours

When Bollywood celebs courted controversies over govt honours

Trending Stories

Latest Photos

Latest Videos

Latest Web Stories

Mid-Day Fast