Akshay Kumar and Aishwarya Rai have been honoured with the Padma Shri Award, one of the top civilian honours in the country, for their contribution to the field of cinema. The announcement came as a surprise to Akshay and Aishwarya and their millions of fans on Republic day.

Akshay may have hit the blues at the beginning of the year with a blooper called "Chan-dni Chowk To China," but all has not been that bad indeed. This

has been a phenomenal month in terms of recognition and rewards. "Singh is King” made it to the prestigious RAAM awards nominations. And now, the Govt, of India has conferred the illustrious Padma Shri honour on him. Looking back, this month should bring good cheer to Akki and his fans in spite of CC2C.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, on the other hand, has made the Bachchan family proud once again with the Padma Shri Award. She is the fourth member in the family to be honoured with the award. Shri Harivanshrai Bachchan, Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan are earlier recipients of the award. Other members in the film industry who received Padma Shri include actress and dancing queen of

yesteryears Helen, renowned playback singers Kumar Sanu and Udit Narayanan, ghazal singer Penaaz Masani, and music composer Pandit Hridaynath Mangeshkar.