Bollywood screen-writer Salim Khan declined the Padma Shri which is the India’s fourth highest civilian award. Mr Khan’s name was left out of the government’s list of Padma awards that was released on January 25 after he refused to accept the Padma Shri, saying that it was “unacceptable.”
Mr Khan said in a statement, “I deserve more than a Padma Shri for my contribution to Hindi cinema. After media speculations I was prepared to accept Padma Bhushan but sorry Padma Shri is just not acceptable, so I refused to accept it.”He also said that My partner Javed Akhtar has received both Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri.The Salim-Javed jodi wrote many of Bollywood’s biggest blockbusters in the Seventies and Eighties and won Filmfare Awards for Zanjeer, Deewar and Shakti. They broke up in 1982 but reunited for 1987’s Mr India, which was their last film together.