Mumbai: Bollywood scriptwriter Salim Khan has declined to receive the prestigious Padma Shri award, the fourth highest civilian award by the Indian government, stating that his contribution has been recognized too late and he should have received the award earlier.
Salim along with many other renowned personalities were to be honoured with the Padma Awards on the 66th Republic Day celebration. Just a few days ago spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and Baba Ramdev also declined to accept the award, stating that there are other ‘great’ people who deserve it.
Salim Khan, who began his career in Bollywood as a supporting actor, later started working with Javed Akthar in the 70s. Salim has co-written some of the most iconic films in Bollywood including, Sholay, Deewar, Mr. India, and Seeta Aur Geeta.
Even though he declined to accept the award, Khan was happy that the current government recognized his contribution to cinema, while the previous one took no notice of it.
