Hyderabadi theatre revivalist, playwright, director and actor Mohammad Ali Baig,received their coveted Padma Shri honours from the President of India on Saturday at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Due to the elections and President’s engagements, the award ceremony of this year was conducted in two batches.
Country’s theatre and cinema fraternity has welcomes the awards wholeheartedly. Eminent filmmaker and playwright Sai Paranjpye said, “His plays are indeed a spectacle to behold. Unforgettable! I earnestly believed that Mohammad Ali Baig deserves to be recognized for his inspired and meaningful theatre work”. Actor Anupam Kher congratulated Baig on being the youngest recipient in the field of theatre arts in the country’s history. Actress Lillette Dubey said, “His theatre is like Poetry, extraordinarily beautiful. He has carried forth his dad’s torch and passion for theatre often subsidising with his own resources when sponsors are lacking”. Delhi’s Sohaila Kapur felt, “A cultural icon in Hyderabad, he’s certainly a deserving candidate. Besides being a thorough professional, he is a wonderful human being… a true Padmasri”. Thespian M. S. Sathyu said, “Baig sahab has single handedly turned around the theatre scene in Hyderabad and he is the single pillar on whom the city’s culture stands”.
Among others Awardees bollywood actor Paresh Rawal, cinematographer Santosh Sivan and Tennis Ace Leander Paes.