GUWAHATI: Veteran actor Dharmendra, popularly known as Bollywood’s ‘He-Man’, was posthumously conferred the Padma Vibhushan for contribution to the field of art at the Padma Awards 2026 ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday, May 25, with his wife and actor-politician Hema Malini accepting the honour on his behalf.
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President Droupadi Murmu presented the awards at Ganatantra Mandap in the presence of Vice President C. P. Radhakrishnan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Dharmendra, who passed away in November 2025, was honoured with the country’s second-highest civilian award for his contribution to Indian cinema. The citation described him as “one of the most versatile and successful actors in Hindi film history” and credited him with shaping the Hindi film industry through a career spanning nearly 300 films. He had earlier received the Padma Bhushan in 2012.
Hema Malini appeared emotional while receiving the award on behalf of her late husband.
The Government of India had announced 131 Padma Awards for 2026, comprising five Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri honours awarded for distinguished service across various fields.
The other Padma Vibhushan awardees this year are K. T. Thomas for Public Affairs, N. Rajam for Art, P. Narayanan for Literature and Education, and V. S. Achuthanandan, who was posthumously honoured for Public Affairs.