Veteran Bengali Singer Sandhya Mukherjee Refuses Padma Shri Award Offer, Calls It ‘Demeaning’

The government of India announced the list of awardees on the eve of Republic Day on Tuesday evening. Mukherjee's name was not mentioned in the list of the 117 recipients of Padma Shri this year. 

Kolkata: After former West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, veteran Bengali singer Sandhya Mukherjee on Tuesday also refused to accept the Padma Shri award conferred to her by the government of India. As per news agency PTI, the singing legend who is also known as Sandhya Mukhopadhyay refused an offer of a Padma Shri award when she was contacted by central government officials telephonically for her acquiesce.

The government of India announced the list of awardees on the eve of Republic Day on Tuesday evening. Mukherjee’s name was not mentioned in the list of the 117 recipients of Padma Shri this year.

Mukherjee’s daughter Soumi Sengupta said the veteran singer told the senior official who called from Delhi that she was not willing to be named as a Padma Shri recipient on being contacted seeking her consent to being named a Padma Shri in the Republic Day awards list.

“At the age of 90, with a singing career spanning over about eight decades, being chosen for Padma Shri is demeaning for a singer of her stature,” Sengupta said.

“Padma Shri is more deserving for a junior artiste, not `Gitasree’ Sandhya Mukhopadhay. Her family and all the lovers of her songs feel,” the daughter said.

A vast number of netizens supported Mukherjee’s decision. The singer considered for long a prima donna of music in Bengal has also sung for several Hindi movie music directors including S D Burman, Anil Biswas, Madan Mohan, Roshan and Salil Choudhary. Mukherjee received `Banga Bibhushan’, and National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer.

Earlier today, after the government announced that former West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya is to be conferred with Padma Bhushan award, the Senior Communist leader released a statement and said, “If I am conferred with Padma Bhushan award, I am rejecting it.”

(With PTI inputs)