Megastar Chiranjeevi and former Vice-President of India M Venkaiah Naidu have been awarded the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian honor, for the year 2024. The President of India approved a total of 132 Padma Awards, including five Padma Vibhushan, 17 Padma Bhushan, and 110 Padma Shri Awards. The list also includes 30 women, 8 foreigners/NRIs/PIOs/OCIs, and 9 posthumous awardees.
Venkaiah Naidu, born on July 1, 1949, served as the Vice-President of India from 2017 to 2022. He was previously the Union Minister for Housing, Urban Development, and Information and Broadcasting in the Narendra Modi Government. Between 2002 and 2005, he was the national president of the Bharatiya Janata Party and also served as the Minister for Rural Development in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Cabinet. He was a Rajya Sabha member for 19 years before becoming the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
Megastar Chiranjeevi, a renowned actor in Telugu cinema, has acted in over 150 movies in his four-decade-long career. He has also worked in Tamil, Hindi, and Kannada films. Chiranjeevi has received several awards including the Raghupathi Venkaiah Award, three Nandi Awards, and nine Filmfare Awards South. In 2006, he was honored with the Padma Bhushan for his contributions to Indian cinema. He also had a brief political career, founding the Praja Rajyam party and serving as a member of the Andhra Pradesh Assembly and Rajya Sabha.
Overall, both Chiranjeevi and Venkaiah Naidu have achieved significant success and recognition in their respective fields.