Dr.Garikapati Narasimha Rao Gari Pravachanlu

As he himself confessed to a TV channel, though the category is literature, it is his “work” on devotional discourses that has become famous, and the award is for this. His technique is to frame the Brahmanical ideology as logic and thus appeal to the younger, English speaking generation, including NRIs

Playwright Badal Sarkar rejected the Padma Shri in 1972 as he was already a 1968 recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, which he said was the best recognition for a writer. He refused a Padma Bhushan in 2010 for the same reason.

Chiranjeevi tendered an apology to noted spiritual preacher Garikapati Narasimha Rao at Alai Balai programme on Thursday after his fans disrupted the latter's speech. It all happened when fans made a beeline to take selfies with Chiranjeevi, distracting Narasimha Rao who was addressing the audience.