Ajith Kumar on Padma Bhushan win: "This honour inspires me to work even harder"

Tamil cinema pride, Ajith Kumar, was honoured with the Padma Bhushan in recognition of his distinguished contributions in the field of Art from President Droupadi Murmu during a grand ceremony in New Delhi on Monday (April 28).

Held at Ganatantra Mandap in Rashtrapati Bhavan, President Murmu felicitated Ajith with the India’s third-highest civilian honour. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah and other leaders graced the event.

Ajith Kumar was one of 19 Padma Bhushan recipients announced by the Union government earlier in January. Among the other distinguished Padma awardees from the world of cinema are actor-politician Nandamuri Balakrishna, acclaimed filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, veteran actors Anant Nag and Shobana Chandrakumar and three-time Grammy-winning composer Ricky Kej.

Following the Padma Bhushan felicitation, Ajith Kumar spoke exclusively to DH and expressed his heartfelt gratitude to everyone who stood by him throughout his journey.

“I am extremely thankful to the Government of India for this great honour. It was a privilege to receive the award from President Droupadi Murmu. I also extend my sincere thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Minister of Information and Broadcasting," said Ajith Kumar.

Expressing his heartfelt thanks to everyone back home in Tamil Nadu and to his fans, appreciating their endless love, support and faith in him, Good Bad Ugly star added this honour is something that drives him to strive harder in his journey.

A dynamic motorsport racer and state-level shooting champion, Ajith Kumar — who heads his own team, Ajith Kumar Racing — also expressed his gratitude to the film fraternity, the motorsports community, the rifle club, and the aeromodelling community.

“With such an honour comes great responsibility, and I believe it’s now up to me to live up to it. I will continue to focus on my work ethic and the responsibilities that lie ahead,” said Ajith Kumar.

Ajith Kumar concluded the talk with a special thanks to his parents, siblings, wife Shalini, and his children, Anushka and Adhvik, for standing by him through both the good times and the challenging ones.

Ajith Kumar's journey in showbiz began with a minor uncredited appearance in the 1990 Tamil movie En Veedu En Kanavar. He officially made his cinema debut as a lead actor in the Tamil film Amaravathi in 1993.

Ajith Kumar has delivered several memorable hits such as Mankatha, Amarkalam, Attakaasam, Viswasam, Dheena, Billa, Aarambam, Veeram, Kaadhal Kottai, Kaadhal Mannan, Villain, and Vaali. His last outing Good Bad Ugly (2025) emerged as one of the biggest hits of Tamil cinema in 2025. The movie has nearly raked in over Rs 150 crores in India at the box office in three weeks and continues to pull audiences to the theaters.