Sandalwood demands Padma award for Ananth Nag

Bengaluru: After a recent call from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to citizens to identify talented people for Padma awards, Sandalwood has come together proposing the name of Ananth Nag who has acted in over 200 films for the honour.

Director-turned-actor Risabh Shetty has started a campaign on his social media pages urging the Union government to confer Padma Shri award on Anant Nag, in recognition of his contribution to the field of cinema.

Netizens have lost no time in supporting Risabh Shetty's proposal by posting their views on their social media handles with the hashtag #AnanthnagforPadma.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said, "India has many talented people, who are doing exceptional work at the grassroots. Often, we don't see or hear much of them. Do you know such inspiring people? You can nominate them for the #PeoplesPadma. Nominations are open till 15th September(sic)."

Reacting to this, Shetty has urged the people to nominate Nag. He also lauded the government's decision to let the people nominate their role models. "There is no shortage of people with tremendous talent in Karnataka. One such personality is the veteran actor Ananth Nag.

As an actor, he has contributed greatly to the Kannada Film Industry. It is about time we recognize his contribution. I urge everyone to gather and nominate Ananth Nag for Peoples Padma. Support the movement using #AnanthnagforPadma," he urged.

Since it is for the first time that an opportunity has been given to people to have a say in choosing persons for Padma awards, Sandalwood fans who have been left disappointed as Kannada actors often failed to receive Padma awards all these years, are now using the opportunity to recommend Anant Nag, who is now shooting for Drishya 2 in Kannada.

The campaign has gained momentum with many political leaders including those from State BJP, actor-filmmaker Rakshit Shetty and director Hemanth M Rao backing it. "His work has done all the talking. About time for the awards to grace his name," says Hemanth M Rao.

The Padma awards, announced on the eve of Republic Day, are the highest civilian honours of India. The annual awards are given in three categories—Padma Vibhushan (for exceptional and distinguished service), Padma Bhushan (distinguished service of higher-order) and Padma Shri (distinguished service) to celebrate the achievements of individuals in multiple disciplines involving public service.

Usually conferred upon recipients nominated by the Padma Committee, this year, the nominations are opened to the public for the first time. Ananth Nag has acted in over 200 films in lead and supporting roles in Kannada, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi languages. He has also appeared in independent films and television serials such as Malgudi Days, and has acted in plays as well.

Nag debuted with the feature film Sankalpa (1973) that won seven state awards and then ventured into the world of independent films cinema with Shyam Benegal's Ankur. His portrayal of a patient with Alzheimer's in Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu (2016) received critical acclaim, and made this experimental film a commercial success. He has won five Karnataka State Film Awards.