Award-Winning Artists Honoured by Cultural Affairs Minister Adv. Ashish Shelar

Mumbai, Nov 2025 – Cultural Affairs Minister Adv. Ashish Shelar announced that artists who have made long-standing contributions in various fields of art will be honoured with the State Cultural Awards. These fields include theatre, vocal music, classical music, instrumental music, Marathi cinema, kirtan/social reform, tamasha, poetry, dance, folk art, tribal and Adivasi art, art donation, research in experimental art, folk dance, lavani/music bands, bharud/vidhinatya (traditional theatre), musical instrument making, zhadi-patti, khadi-gammat, Dashavatar/Naman games, Vahegayan, rare experimental arts, institutions related to experimental arts, sound engineering, music arrangement, and voice-over work.

The awards are categorized as follows: the Senior Award carries a cash prize of ₹3 lakh, and the Youth Award carries ₹1 lakh. Both awards also include a memento, citation, and a shawl. These awards will soon be presented with due honour to all recipients in Mumbai.

Senior Awards:

• Theatre – Arun Kadam (2025)
• Vocal Music – Dhananjay Joshi (2025)
• Instrumental Music – Vijay Chavan (2025)
• Marathi Cinema – Shivaji Lotan Patil (2025)
• Classical Music – Uday Bhawalkar (2025)
• Kirtan/Social Reform – Gahin Nath Dnyaneshwar Ausekar Maharaj (2025)
• Tamasha – Kondiram Awale (2025)
• Poetry – Shahir Madhukar More (2025)
• Dance – Smt. Ranjana Phadke (2025)
• Folk Art – Haribhau Verulkar (2025)
• Tribal Adivasi – Raysing Hira Padvi (2025)
• Art Donation – Chandrakant Gharote (2025)
• Experimental Arts Research & Journalism – Prof. Anand Giri (2024), Sanjeev Bhagwat (2025)
• Folk Dance – Subhash Nakashe (2024), Arvind Rajput (2025)
• Lavani Music Bands – Smt. Shakuntala Nagarkar (2024), Smt. Kalpana Jawlikar (2025)
• Bharud/Vidhinatya/Gauln – Smt. Padmaja Kulkarni (2024), Smt. Godavari Munde (2025)
• Musical Instrument Makers – Yusuf Ghadulal Mulla (2024), Bhalerao Nagorao Dadanje (2025)
• Zhadi-Patti/Dandar/Khadi-Gammat – Ramdas Chaudhary (2024), Budha Bhalavi (2025)
• Dashavatar/Naman Games/Vahegayan – Omprakash Yashwant Chavan (2024), Bhanudas Shambha Sawant (2025)
• Rare Experimental Arts & Preservation – Dharma Kamble (2024), Smt. Sakharabai Tekale (2025)
• Experimental Arts Institutions – Vishram Thakar Adivasi Kala Angan Charitable Trust (2025), Tambaveshwar Shahiri Kalapathak (Tukaram Thombre), Beed (2024)
• Sound Engineering – Avinash Oak (2024), Mahesh Amberkar (2025)
• Music Arrangement – Amar Haldipur (2024), Kamlesh Bhadkamkar (2025)
• Voice-over Artists – Ambrish Mishra (2024), Uday Sabnis (2025)

Youth Awards:

• Theatre – Tejashree Pradhan (2024), Bhushan Kadu (2025)
• Vocal Music – Dhananjay Mhaskar (2024), Mayur Sukale (2025)
• Instrumental Music – Rishikesh Jagtap (2024), Varad Kathapurkar (2025)
• Marathi Cinema – Madhura Velankar (2024), Shantanu Rode (2025)
• Classical Music – Rahul Deshpande (2024), Bhagyash Marathe (2025)
• Kirtan/Social Reform – Jaywant Bodhle (2024), Dnyaneshwar Mauli Kadam (2025)
• Tamasha – Nitin Bansode (2024), Amrita Thorat (2025)
• Poetry – Shahir Azad Naikvadi (2024), Shahira Anita Kharat (2025)
• Dance – Vrushali Dabke (2024), Santosh Bhangre (2025)
• Folk Art – Sandip Pal Maharaj (2024), Chetan Bele (2025)
• Tribal Adivasi – Sabulal Babulal Dahikar (2024), Gangubai Chango Bhagat (2025)
• Art Donation – Smt. Kasturi Deshpande (2024), Siddhesh Kalingan (2025)
• Experimental Arts Research & Journalism – Khanduraj Gaikwad (2024), Tejaswini Achrekar (2025)
• Folk Dance – Dipak Bidkar (2024), Ganesh Kamble (2025)
• Lavani Music Bands – Pramila Lodhgekar (2024), Vaishali Waflekar (2025)
• Bharud/Vidhinatya/Gauln – Hamid Sayyed (2024), Ramanand Ugle (2025)
• Musical Instrument Makers – Uma Shankar Date (2024), Sarvajit Vishnu Pol (2025)
• Zhadi-Patti/Dandar/Khadi-Gammat – Mukesh Deshmukh (2024), Dudhram Parsaram Kawle (2025)
• Dashavatar/Naman Games/Vahegayan – Lakshmikant Naik (2024), Ramkrishna Kailas Ghule (2025)
• Rare Experimental Arts & Oral Tradition Preservation – Renuka Shendge Jejurikar (2024), Prasad Garud (2025)
• Experimental Arts Institutions – Savyasachi Gurukulam Lakhan Jadhav (2024), Abol Sakshidar Trust for History (Nilesh Sakat) (2025)
• Sound Engineering – Pranam Pansare (2024), Viraj Bhosale (2025)
• Music Arrangement – Anurag Godbole (2024), Amit Padhye (2025)
• Voice-over Artists – Meghna Erande (2024), Samira Gujar (2025)

All awardees were felicitated by Dr. Kiran Kulkarni, Secretary of the Cultural Affairs Department, and Cultural Affairs Minister Adv. Ashish Shelar.