Popular film producer and exhibitor Venkata Ramana Reddy alias Dil Raju would have figured in the list of Padma Sri award winners announced by the Centre on the eve of Republic Day, had the Central government taken into consideration the recommendation of Telangana government led by chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.
According to reports that appeared in a section of media, the KCR government sent a list of 31 names to the Centre in September 2022 recommending them for the Padma awards including three each for Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan and the remaining 25 people for Padma Sri awards.
The Centre generally calls for recommendations from the state for Padma awards, but it might not necessarily take these names into consideration while selecting the winners for the awards. Sometimes, it might take but it is purely at the discretion of the Centre.
According to sources, the KCR government recommended the name of Dil Raju for the Padma Sri award.
Hailing from Nizamabad district, Dil Raju is one of the top producers in the country, but of late, he has been embroiled in various controversies.
Besides Dil Raju, the state government also recommended the names of popular director of art films B Narsing Rao, famous architect of Yadadri temple B Anand Sai, popular director K Raghavendra Rao, producer late Doraswamy Raju also for the Padma awards.
Interestingly, glamorous actress of yesteryears Jamuna who passed away on Friday, another veteran actor Kaikala Satyanarayana who died recently, film producer late Narayanadas Narang, famous educationist Chukka Ramaiah and Telangana Transco CMD Devulapalli Prabhakar Rao were also among the names recommended by the KCR government.
Similarly, famous gastro-enterologist Dr G Nageshwar Reddy and dance couple Raja Reddy-Radha Reddy’s names were recommended for Padma Vibhushan, while painter K Laxma Goud, poet N Gopi and director Singeetham Srinivas Rao were recommended for Padma Bhushan.
But the Centre did not consider even a single name recommended by the KCR government. Instead, it chose its own names for Padma awards.
