Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Akshay Kumar receive Padma Shri award

New Delhi: Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has been conferred Padma Shri award in the Ashoka Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan on Tuesday. President Pratibha Patil gave away the prestigious award to Aishwarya for her contribution to cinema.

Bollywood actor Akshaya Kumar was also conferred the same award.

Noted stalwarts from various fields were present in the award ceremony. Prominent among those graced the occasion; include the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Vice-president Hamid Ansari, and Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterji. Besides, Amitabh Bachchan, Amar Singh, Abhishek Bachchan and Twinkle Khanna were also present in the hall.