List of Sangeet Natak Akademi Awardees
India’s performing arts tradition is one of the richest in the world, encompassing diverse forms of music, dance, and drama. Recognizing and honouring excellence in these fields is the central mission of the Sangeet Natak Akademi. Through its Fellowship and Awards, the Akademi celebrates artists whose lifelong dedication has shaped the nation’s cultural heritage.
The first award was presented in 1952, and it has continued to celebrate distinguished artists across the country, with the most recent awards conferred in 2023.
The Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship
The Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship is the highest honour conferred by the Akademi. It is awarded purely on the basis of merit and artistic excellence, without distinction of nationality, race, caste, religion, creed, or gender. The eligibility criteria ordinarily restrict consideration of individuals below the age of 50, ensuring that recipients represent sustained achievement and maturity in their field.
Recommendations for the Fellowship are made by existing fellows along with members of the Akademi’s General Council. This peer-based recognition system reinforces the credibility and prestige of the honour, as it is granted by those deeply rooted in the performing arts community.
The Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards have a legacy spanning more than seventy years. These awards represent the nation’s highest recognition for practitioners, gurus, and scholars in the performing arts. Interestingly, awards in Hindustani and Carnatic music were instituted in 1951, even before the formal establishment of the Akademi. These early honours were known as Presidential Awards.
With the formation of the Akademi, the awards were brought under its authority and renamed the Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards. The Presidential Awards of 1952 and 1953 were later incorporated into the official list of Akademi awardees, ensuring continuity in recognition.
Structure and Significance of the Awards
Currently, 41 awards are conferred annually. To date, more than 1,298 artists have been honoured for their exceptional contributions. Each award carries a purse of ₹1 lakh, a Tamrapatra (copper plaque), and an Angavastram. While the material components symbolize honour, the true value of the award lies in national recognition of artistic excellence and lifelong dedication to cultural preservation.
Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards 2023
|
Name
|
Specialization / Sub-field
|
|
Bombay Jayashri Ramnath
|
Carnatic Vocal
|
|
Kalapini Komkali
|
Hindustani Vocal
|
|
Vinod Kumar Dwivedi
|
Hindustani Vocal
|
|
Moinuddin Khan
|
Hindustani Instrumental (Sarangi)
|
|
Niladri Kumar
|
Hindustani Instrumental (Sitar)
|
|
Harvinder Kumar Sharma
|
Hindustani Instrumental (Sitar)
|
|
Kalinath Mishra
|
Hindustani Instrumental (Tabla)
|
|
H. K. Venkataram
|
Carnatic Instrumental (Violin)
|
|
Neyveli R. Narayanan
|
Carnatic Instrumental (Mridangam)
|
|
S. Sekhar
|
Carnatic Instrumental (Mridangam)
|
|
Shankar Sastry
|
Carnatic Vocal
|
|
Jayanti Sharma
|
Music for Dance
|
|
L. V. Gangadhara Sastry
|
Sugam Sangeet
|
|
Sangita Gosain
|
Odissi Music
|
|
Urmila Sathyanarayanan
|
Bharatanatyam
|
|
Pallavi Krishnan
|
Mohiniattam
|
|
Maddali Usha Gayatri
|
Kuchipudi
|
|
Snehaprava Samantray
|
Odissi
|
|
Bhaben Borbayan
|
Sattriya
|
|
Latasana Devi
|
Manipuri
|
|
Margi Vijayakumar
|
Kathakali
|
|
Jagdish Sundarlal Gangani
|
Kathak
|
|
Parikshit Mahato
|
Chhau
|
|
Nirupama & T. D. Rajendra
|
Creative & Experimental (Joint)
|
|
Anil Rastogi
|
Acting
|
|
Rajiv Verma
|
Acting
|
|
Anoop Joshi
|
Allied Theatre Arts (Lighting)
|
|
Sandeep Dutta
|
Allied Theatre Arts (Lighting)
|
|
Piyal Bhattacharya
|
Other Major Traditions (Sanskrit)
|
|
Pali Bhupinder Singh
|
Playwriting
|
|
Asif Ali Haider Khan
|
Playwriting
|
|
Rakesh Bhatt
|
Folk Theatre (Uttarakhand)
|
|
Zahoor Alam
|
Direction
|
|
Surinder Sharma
|
Direction
|
|
Helen Giri
|
Folk & Traditional (Meghalaya)
|
|
Abdul Gaffar Dar Kanihami
|
Folk Music (Jammu & Kashmir)
|
|
Bharat Sharma Vyas
|
Folk Music (Bihar)
|
|
Krishan Lal Sehgal
|
Folk Song (Himachal Pradesh)
|
|
Kanta Kashinath Gaude
|
Folk Music (Goa)
|
|
Swapan Mukhopadhyay
|
Folk Music (West Bengal)
|
|
Perini Prakash
|
Perini Sivatandavam
|
|
Gopalan Nair Venu
|
Overall Contribution
|
|
Gurpreet Singh Khalsa
|
Martial Arts (Gatka)
|
|
Jagdish Trivedi
|
Scholarship in Performing Arts
|
|
K. Pajanivel
|
Martial Arts (Silambam)
|
Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards 2022
|
Name
|
Category
|
Specialization / Field
|
|
Ashok Saraf
|
Theatre
|
Acting
|
|
Gunakar Dev Goswami
|
Theatre
|
Direction
|
|
Margi Madhu Chakyar
|
Theatre
|
Kutiyattam
|
|
Daulat Ram Vaid
|
Theatre
|
Allied Theatre Arts (Lighting)
|
|
Premlata Mishra
|
Theatre
|
Acting
|
|
Basant Kabra
|
Music
|
Hindustani Instrumental (Sarod)
|
|
Devaki Pandit Nambeear
|
Music
|
Hindustani Vocal
|
|
Harvinder Singh
|
Music
|
Hindustani Vocal
|
|
Jayanthi Kumaresh
|
Music
|
Carnatic Instrumental (Veena)
|
|
Manda Sudha Rani
|
Music
|
Carnatic Vocal
|
|
Maharajapuram S. Ramachandran
|
Music
|
Carnatic Vocal
|
|
Dharamnath Mishra
|
Music
|
Hindustani Instrumental (Harmonium)
|
|
Purushottam Upadhyay
|
Music
|
Sugam Sangeet
|
|
Osman Bhai Husen Bhai Mir
|
Music
|
Sugam Sangeet / Folk
|
|
Pusthakam Ramaa
|
Music
|
Music for Dance
|
|
Bhagavatula Sethuram
|
Dance
|
Kuchipudi
|
|
Bharat Sharma
|
Dance
|
Creative & Experimental Dance
|
|
Kalamandalam Balasubramanian
|
Dance
|
Kathakali
|
|
Nalini & Kamalini Asthana
|
Dance
|
Kathak (Joint Award)
|
|
Niranjan Rout
|
Dance
|
Odissi
|
|
Gobinda Saikia
|
Dance
|
Sattriya
|
|
Kala Vijayan
|
Dance
|
Mohiniattam
|
|
Manjula Ramaswamy
|
Dance
|
Bharatanatyam
|
|
Karuna Borah
|
Dance
|
Ankiya Bhaona
|
|
Mahendrakumar Karsanbhai Andani
|
Dance
|
Folk Dance (Gujarat)
|
|
Gafaruddin Mewati Jogi
|
Folk Music
|
Bhapang (Rajasthan)
|
|
Poonam Tivari
|
Folk Music
|
Folk Music (Chhattisgarh)
|
|
Nitu Kumari Nootan
|
Folk Music
|
Folk Music (Bihar)
|
|
K. Viswanatha Pulavar
|
Traditional Arts
|
Puppetry (Tholpavakoothu)
|
|
Olen Megu Damin
|
Traditional Arts
|
Folk Music & Dance (Arunachal)
|
|
Chingtham Ranjeet Khuman
|
Contribution
|
Thang-Ta (Manipur)
|
|
Lakshahira Das
|
Scholarship
|
Overall Contribution
|
|
Prameela Gurumurthy
|
Scholarship
|
Scholarship in Performing Arts
|
Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards 2021
|
Name
|
Field / Category
|
Specialization / Sub-field
|
|
Uday Bhawalkar
|
Music
|
Hindustani Vocal (Dhrupad)
|
|
Subhra Guha
|
Music
|
Hindustani Vocal
|
|
Sangeeta Shankar
|
Music
|
Hindustani Instrumental (Violin)
|
|
Ravindra Yavagal
|
Music
|
Hindustani Instrumental (Tabla)
|
|
D. Balakrishna
|
Music
|
Carnatic Instrumental (Veena)
|
|
Sudha Ragunathan
|
Music
|
Carnatic Vocal
|
|
Radha Namboodiri
|
Music
|
Carnatic Vocal
|
|
H. R. Leelavathi
|
Music
|
Sugam Sangeet (Light Music)
|
|
Susmita Das
|
Music
|
Sugam Sangeet
|
|
Kumud Diwan
|
Music
|
Thumri
|
|
Thanjavur R. Govindarajan
|
Music
|
Carnatic Instrumental (Thavil)
|
|
Bijaya Kumar Jena
|
Music
|
Music for Dance
|
|
Jayalakshmi Eshwar
|
Dance
|
Bharatanatyam
|
|
Shama Bhate
|
Dance
|
Kathak
|
|
Inchakkadu Ramachandran Pillai
|
Dance
|
Kathakali
|
|
Thokchom Ibemubi Devi
|
Dance
|
Manipuri
|
|
Neena Prasad
|
Dance
|
Mohiniattam
|
|
N. Sailaja
|
Dance
|
Kuchipudi
|
|
P. N. Girija Devi
|
Dance
|
Bharatanatyam
|
|
Bhuban Kumar
|
Dance
|
Chhau
|
|
Ajay Kumar Malkani
|
Theatre
|
Direction
|
|
Manoj Kumar Pattanayak
|
Theatre
|
Direction
|
|
Sudesh Sharma
|
Theatre
|
Direction
|
|
Nileshwar Mishra
|
Theatre
|
Acting
|
|
Y. G. Mahendra
|
Theatre
|
Acting
|
|
Lalit Singh Pokhariya
|
Theatre
|
Acting
|
|
Vilas Janve
|
Theatre
|
Mime
|
|
Rekandar Venugopal Rao
|
Theatre
|
Allied Theatre Arts (Stage Design)
|
|
Data Ram Purohit
|
Theatre
|
Folk Theatre (Uttarakhand)
|
|
Gurindra Nath Ojah
|
Theatre
|
Traditional Theatre (Ankiya Bhaona)
|
|
Durga Prasad Murmu
|
Folk Music
|
Folk Music (Jharkhand)
|
|
Mahabir Singh Guddu
|
Folk Music
|
Folk Music (Haryana)
|
|
N. Tiken Singh
|
Folk Music
|
Folk Music (Manipur)
|
|
Prashanna Gogoi
|
Folk Music
|
Folk Music (Assam)
|
|
Sekar N.
|
Folk Music
|
Folk Music (Puducherry)
|
|
Silbi Passah
|
Folk Music
|
Folk Music (Meghalaya)
|
|
R. Murugan
|
Music
|
Instrument Making (Tamil Nadu)
|
|
Raghavendra H. N
|
Music
|
Instrument Making (Karnataka)
|
|
S. Samuthiram
|
Music
|
Instrument Making (Tamil Nadu)
|
|
Vibha Dadheech
|
Overall Contribution
|
Scholarship / Overall
|
|
Premchand Hombal
|
Overall Contribution
|
Overall Contribution
|
Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards 2020
|
Name
|
Category
|
|
Anup Jalota
|
Music
|
|
Arati Ankalikar Tikekar
|
Music
|
|
Bickram Ghosh
|
Music
|
|
Dal Chand Sharma
|
Music
|
|
G. Balakrishna Prasad
|
Music
|
|
Kushal Kumar Das
|
Music
|
|
M. A. Sundareswaran
|
Music
|
|
Patri Satish Kumar
|
Music
|
|
Prema Ramamurthy
|
Music
|
|
R. K. Padmanabha
|
Music
|
|
Ranjana Kumari Jha
|
Music
|
|
Sumitra Guha
|
Music
|
|
Arambam Tombinou Devi
|
Music
|
|
Ningombam Irabot Singh
|
Music
|
|
Balkar Singh Sidhu
|
Dance
|
|
Bhushan Lakandri
|
Dance
|
|
Kumkum Dhar
|
Dance
|
|
Meenakshi Chitharanjan
|
Dance
|
|
P. P. Kandhasami
|
Dance
|
|
Pasumarthy Vithal & Bharathi Vithal
|
Dance
|
|
Rabindra Kumar Atibudhi
|
Dance
|
|
Sang Jangmu
|
Dance
|
|
Sruti Bandopadhay
|
Dance
|
|
Trilochan Mohanta
|
Dance
|
|
Lokendra Trivedi
|
Theatre
|
|
Mithilesh Roy
|
Theatre
|
|
Ningombam Jadumani Singh
|
Theatre
|
|
Purushothama M.
|
Theatre
|
|
Raghav Prakash Mishra
|
Theatre
|
|
Gafoor Khan Manganiyar
|
Folk Music
|
|
Nand Lal Garg
|
Folk Music
|
|
S. G. Lakshmidevamma Mugli
|
Folk Music
|
|
Tarubala Debbarma
|
Folk Music
|
|
Zachunu Keyho
|
Folk Music
|
|
B. Lalthlengliana
|
Traditional / Folk / Puppetry
|
|
Meena Naiak
|
Traditional / Folk / Puppetry
|
|
Amit Banerjee
|
Contribution / Scholarship
|
|
Bhupesh Joshi
|
Contribution / Scholarship
|
|
Mahesh Champaklal
|
Contribution / Scholarship
|
|
Nandkishore Kapote
|
Contribution / Scholarship
|
|
Prashant Purushottam Damle
|
Contribution / Scholarship
|
Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards 2019
|
Name
|
Field / Category
|
|
Charumathi Ramachandran
|
Music
|
|
Chetan Kumar Joshi
|
Music
|
|
Dulal Chandra Kanji
|
Music
|
|
Majid Gulabsaheb Satarmaker
|
Music
|
|
Manju Nandan Mehta
|
Music
|
|
O. S. Arun
|
Music
|
|
Palai C. K. Ramachandran
|
Music
|
|
Prem Kumar Mallick
|
Music
|
|
Sharma Bandhu
|
Music
|
|
Sikkil Mala Chandrasekhar
|
Music
|
|
Trivandrum V. Surendran
|
Music
|
|
D. Uma Maheshwari
|
Music
|
|
Vinayak Torvi
|
Music
|
|
Brajendra Kumar Pattnaik
|
Dance
|
|
Kottakkal Nandakumaran Nair
|
Dance
|
|
Mamata Shankar
|
Dance
|
|
Manju Barggavee
|
Dance
|
|
Nirmala Paniker
|
Dance
|
|
Raghav Raj Bhatt & Mangala Bhatt
|
Dance
|
|
Ranjumoni Saikia
|
Dance
|
|
Sutapa Talukdar
|
Dance
|
|
Vasundhara Doraswamy
|
Dance
|
|
Abinash Sarma
|
Theatre
|
|
Alok Chatterjee
|
Theatre
|
|
Bharti Sharma
|
Theatre
|
|
Hrishikesh Sulabh
|
Theatre
|
|
K. S. Krishnappa
|
Theatre
|
|
Kumar Sohoni
|
Theatre
|
|
N. K. Ramakrishna
|
Theatre
|
|
Pranjal Saikia
|
Theatre
|
|
Souti Chakraborty
|
Theatre
|
|
Mamta Chandrakar
|
Folk Music
|
|
Nathoo Lal Solanki
|
Folk Music
|
|
Pandurang Anna Ghotkar
|
Folk Music
|
|
Ram Lal
|
Folk Music
|
|
Urmila Pandey
|
Folk Music
|
|
Peruvanam Kuttan Marar
|
Traditional / Folk / Puppetry
|
|
S. M. L. Poovinapura
|
Traditional / Folk / Puppetry
|
|
S. H. Dharajiya
|
Traditional / Folk / Puppetry
|
|
Ritha Rajan
|
Contribution / Scholarship
|
|
Utpal K. Banerjee
|
Contribution / Scholarship
|
Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards 2018
|
Name
|
Category
|
|
Mani Prasad
|
Music
|
|
Madhup Mudgal
|
Music
|
|
Tarun Bhattacharya
|
Music
|
|
Tejendra Narayan Majumdar
|
Music
|
|
Alamelu Mani
|
Music
|
|
Malladi Suribabu
|
Music
|
|
S. Kasim & S. Babu
|
Music
|
|
Ganesh and Kumaresh Rajagopalan
|
Music
|
|
Suresh E. Wadkar
|
Music
|
|
Shanti Hiranand
|
Music
|
|
Malini Awasthi
|
Music
|
|
Gazi Khan Barna
|
Music
|
|
Narendra Singh Negi
|
Music
|
|
Niranjan Rajyaguru
|
Music
|
|
Mohammad Sidiq Bhagat
|
Music
|
|
Deepak Mazumdar
|
Music
|
|
Radha Sridhar
|
Dance
|
|
Maulik Shah and Ishira Parikh
|
Dance
|
|
Akham Lashmi Devi
|
Dance
|
|
Surupa Sen
|
Dance
|
|
Tankeswar Hazarika Borbyan
|
Dance
|
|
Gopika Varma
|
Dance
|
|
Pasumarthy Ramalinga Sastry
|
Dance
|
|
Tapan Kumar Pattanayak
|
Dance
|
|
Ajeev Naik
|
Theatre
|
|
Laltliangliana Khiangte
|
Theatre
|
|
Sanjay Upadhyay
|
Theatre
|
|
Suhas Joshi
|
Theatre
|
|
Teekam Joshi
|
Theatre
|
|
Swapan Nandy
|
Theatre
|
|
Heisnam Ashangbi Devi
|
Traditional / Folk / Tribal Arts
|
|
Bhagawat A. S. Nanjappa
|
Traditional / Folk / Tribal Arts
|
|
A. M. Parameswaran Chakyar
|
Traditional / Folk / Tribal Arts
|
|
Arjun Singh Dhurwey
|
Traditional / Folk / Tribal Arts
|
|
Som Datt Battu
|
Traditional / Folk / Tribal Arts
|
|
Anupama Hoskere
|
Traditional / Folk / Tribal Arts
|
|
Hem Chandra Goswami
|
Traditional / Folk / Tribal Arts
|
|
Kota Satchidnanda Sastry
|
Overall Contribution / Scholarship
|
|
Diwan Singh Bajeli
|
Overall Contribution / Scholarship
|
|
Puru Dadheech
|
Overall Contribution / Scholarship
|
