The Mohammed Rafi Award has been bestowed upon late music composer Laxmikant Shantaram Kudalkar and playback singer Usha Timothy. The award was instituted by an NGO headed by 
Mumbai BJP Chief Ashish Shelar.
Kudalkar, of the Laxmikant-Pyarelal duo, was given the Mohammed Rafi Lifetime Achievement Award consisting of 1 lakh rupees and a trophy. The award was received by his daughter.
Timothy was honoured with the award and 51,000 rupees at a programme held in suburban Bandra.
Kudalkar formed a successful and long partnership with Pyarelal Ramprasad Sharma and as music composers they belted out hit tracks like ‘Bindiya Chamkegi’, ‘Main Shayar Toh Nahin’ and ‘Hansta Hua Noorani Chehra’ among others.
Timothy has sung 1,000 songs in multiple Indian languages such as Hindi, Malayalam, Punjabi, Bhojpuri and Marathi, among others.