Mumbai,
Jan
26
(PTI)
Veteran
actor
Chiranjeevi
says
he
is
"humbled
and
grateful" to
be
honoured
to
be
with
Padma
Vibushan,
an
award
that
he
owes
to
his
fans.
The
68-year-old
actor's
name
was
announced
among
the
Padma
awardees
on
the
eve
of
the
Republic
Day.
He
has
been
bestowed
with
the
Padma
Vibhushan,
the
second
highest
civilian
honour
awarded
for
exceptional
and
distinguished
service,
along
with
Indian
cinema
icon
Vyjayanthimala.
In
a
video
posted
on
his
official
social
media
pages
on
Thursday
night,
Chiranjeevi
said
he
became
"speechless"
and
"overwhelmed"
after
hearing
the
news.
"After
hearing
this
news,
I
became
speechless.
I
am
really
overwhelmed.
I
am
humbled
and
grateful
for
this
honour.
It's
only
the
unconditional
and
invaluable
love
of
the
people,
audiences,
my
fans,
my
blood-brothers
and
blood-sisters
that
allowed
me
to
reach
here.
I
owe
my
life
and
this
moment
to
you,"
the
actor
said.
Chiranjeevi
is
one
of
the
top
stars
from
the
South
cinema,
having
worked
in
over
150
feature
films
in
Telugu
as
well
as
Hindi,
Tamil
and
Kannada.
Some
of
his
popular
films
include
"Rudra
Veena",
"Indra",
"Tagore",
"Swayam
Krushi",
"Sye
Raa
Narasimha
Reddy",
"Stalin"
and
"Gang
Leader".
He
was
previously
honoured
with
Padma
Bhushan
in
2006.
"I
always
try
to
express
my
gratitude
the
way
I
can,
though
I
know
I
can
never
do
enough.
On
screen,
the
last
45
years
of
my
film
career,
I
have
tried
to
entertain
you
to
the
best
of
my
abilities.
"And
off-screen,
I
try
to
help
the
needy
by
taking
up
relevant
and
social
humanitarian
causes
from
time
to
time,"
he
said.
The
actor
said
he
is
forever
"indebted"
to
his
fans
for
their
love
and
support
over
the
years.
"On
this
occasion,
I
would
like
to
thank
the
Government
of
India
and
the
honourable
Prime
Minister
Narendra
Modiji
for
bestowing
on
me
this
coveted
Padma
Vibhushan.
Thank
you
one
and
all.
Jai
Hind,"
he
concluded.
The
Padma
awardees
also
included
late
Tamil
actor-politician
Vijayakanth
as
well
as
veterans
Mithun
Chakraborty,
Usha
Uthup
and
Pyarelal
Sharma,
who
have
all
been
bestowed
with
Padma
Bhushan,
presented
for
distinguished
service
of
high
order.