A Potpourri of Vestiges Feature
Murtaza Ali Khan
I was recently invited
to attend the 2022 South Indian International Movie Awards (SIIMA) in Bangalore. Celebrating
a decade of SIIMA, the 10th edition of the festival was held on 10 - 11
September, 2022. The ambiance remained electrifying throughout the two days as
the biggest names in Indian showbiz made their presence felt at the awards. SIIMA
was launched in 2012 by Vishnu Vardhan Induri and Brinda Prasad Adusimilli to
appreciate film makers from across the South Indian film industries. Over the
last decade or so, SIIMA has only gone from the position of strength to
strength to become one of the most sought after awards events in India that holds
such a special place in everyone’s hearts.
Oozing
with cinephilia and glamour, the star-studded extravaganza has been curated by
Brinda Prasad Adusumilli and Vishnu Induri, for a span of two days in
Bengaluru. Earlier, Brinda Prasad Adusumilli, who is also the chairperson of
SIIMA, had announced the nominations for the films and music released in the 4
South Indian Languages viz. Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Tamil in 2021. Other
than the regular awards, SIMMA also features some special honors for lifetime
contributions and few special awards. Now, the first day of the two day event
focused on Telugu and Kannada cinema and the second day of the awards function
was dedicated to celebrating the best of Tamil and Malayalam cinema.
Adding
to the glitter and glamour of the 10th edition of SIIMA, Bollywood actor
Ranveer Singh marked his scintillating presence at the event alongside some of
biggest names of Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, and Malayalam cinema including the
likes of Allu Arjun, Yash, Vijay Deverakonda, Pooja Hegde, Darshan Thoogudeepa,
Arvind Swamy, Silambarasan TR, and Kamal Haasan, Anees Bazmee, Vivek Agnihotri,
Arvind Swamy, Hansika Motwani, Siva Karthikeyan, Silambarasan TR, Nidhhi
Agerwal, and Tovino Thomas, among others.
The
winners for Telugu and Kannada cinema were also announced on the first day of
SIIMA. The Best Film (Telugu) went to ‘Pushpa: The Rise,’ and the Best Film
(Kannada) went to ‘Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana.’ As far as the top acting
honors are concerned, the winners announced on the first day included Punneth
Rajkumar, who was awarded Best Actor (Kannada) posthumously for ‘Yuvarathnaa,’
Ashika Ranganath, who won the Best Actress (Kannada) for ‘Madhagaja,’ Pooja
Hegde, who won the Best Actress award (Telugu) for ‘Most Eligible Bachelor,’
Allu Arjun, who won the Best Actor award (Telugu) for ‘Pushpa – The Rise,’
Pramod, who bagged the Best Actor in a Supporting Role Award (Kannada) for ‘Rathnan
Prapancha,’ Aarohi Narayan, who won the Best Actress in a Supporting Role
(Kannada) for ‘Drishya 2,’ Jagadeesh Prathap Bandari, who bagged the Best Actor
in a Supporting Role Award (Telugu) for the film ‘Pushpa - The Rise,’ and
Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, who won the Best Actress in a Supporting Role Award
(Telugu) for the film ‘Krack.’
The
winners for Malayalam and Tamil cinema were announced on the second day of the
festival. While ‘Minnal Murali’ bagged the Best Film (Malayalam), ‘Sarpatta
Parambarai’ won the Best Film (Tamil). The top acting honors went to Kangana
Ranaut, who won Best Actress (Tamil) for ‘Thalaivii,’ Arvind Swamy, who won
Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Tamil) for ‘Thalaivii,’ Silambarasan TR, who
won Best Actor (Tamil) for ‘Maanaadu,’ Tovino Thomas, who bagged Best Actor
(Tamil) for ‘Minnal Murali’ and ‘Kala,’ and Unnimaya Prasad, who bagged Best
Actress in a Supporting Role (Malayalam) for ‘Joji’. The winners were chosen by
an online voting system.
The
passion, zeal, and unconditional love that the fans of Telugu, Tamil, Kannada,
and Malayalam cinema have is what makes these regional film industries tick.
Often the stars are hailed as demigods. Attending the 10th edition
of SIIMA in Bangalore has to be one of the top experiences for me—going to
ground zero and attending a physical event happening in the real world after a
long hiatus— since the pandemic hit us. Credit goes to Vishnu Vardhan Induri
and Brinda Prasad Adusimilli for their passion and commitment towards SIIMA and
for extending their hospitality to all those attending the event.
As
curtains have come down on the 10th edition of SIIMA, my eyes are
already set on the next edition which promises to be even bigger and grander.
A version of this review was first published in The Daily Guardian.
About Author
Murtaza Ali Khan is an award-winning critic and journalist who has been covering art, culture, and entertainment for over 10 years. Khan regularly appears on television as a cultural expert and has conducted hundreds of exclusive / tête-à-tête national and international celebrity interviews for leading Indian publications. He regularly conducts workshops on screenwriting, film appreciation, media studies, and film theory. He is the screenplay and dialogue writer of the short film 'To New India with Love' about Startup India, produced and directed by Tirlok Malik who is an Emmy-nominated Indian-American filmmaker based out of New York. Khan has translated the book 'Hindujas and Bollywood,' about the global journey of over 1200 Hindi films from 1950s to 1980s, into English.
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