Search Indian Maps, Pincodes, Local Info and more...
Filmfare Awards South
For every film maker or anyone associated with the technical aspect of film making, an award can go a long way in boosting the skills, confidence, popularity and this will encourage better films to be produced. South Indian film industry is quite huge with its regional variants such as Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam. Besides these bigwigs in film industry in India, there is Bollywood or the Mumbai Hindi film industry. Although, the Bollywood movies are seen across a wide range of audiences, the South Indian movies have their share of followers and fans. In terms of number of movies made and the viewership, it is quite high, compared to the few populations across which these languages are understood. South Indian movies are like cult phenomenon, with some of their stars being prayed like God figures. Their charisma outlives their screen presence and it is common to find many heroes from South Indian Film industry to have some diehard fans. It is more of a passion for people to watch movie than entertainment.
About Filmfare Awards South
While the Bollywood industry is awarded with the Filmfare Awards on an annual basis, the same awards are also given to the South Indian movie making fraternity in the form of Filmfare Awards South. The Filmfare Awards South is also instituted by the Times Group which also presents the Filmfare Awards. This is the oldest category of movie awards in India. Filmfare Awards South is given for each of the regional language films from Kannad, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam. These awards are decorated for the technical and professional excellence in the South Indian film industry.
Filmfare Awards South was constituted in the year 1954 for the movies released in the year 1953, in all the four regional film industries of the South. This was the same year in which the National Film Awards were initiated. In those days, these awards were known by the name of Clare Awards, the name having its origin from the editor of The Times of India, Clare Mendonca. These awards were decided by the voting of the public as well as through the decision of a jury. Hence, it was supposed to be the Indian equivalent to the Oscars.
History of the Filmfare Awards South
In 1954, the first awards of Filmfare Awards South were given in a grand ceremony in Chennai. In later years, the venue was shifted to Music Academy. Tamil and Telugu films were recognised in the initial years starting from 1954 for the awards. Malayalam movies were added to the list only in 1966. Thereafter in 1969, the Kannada movies were brought into the fold. From 1972 onwards, best actor, director and actress awards were given in all the film categories. Gradually, more and more categories of all the four regional films were added to the list of awards. In 1992, the first time award for Lifetime Achievement – South was given. Over the years, more awards were added to the list which year by year started encompassing all the language movies. Best Comedian award which was being given till 2006 from 2002 were discontinued thereafter.
Filmfare Statuette
The award which is given to the winner in different categories of Filmfare Awards South consists of a statuette of a female with arms raised up in a dancing posture. At the top, the fingers touch over the head. This is usually referred to as the Black Lady. The original make was designed by NG Phansare along with Walter Langhammer who was the art director with Times of India. The statuette is made up of bronze, weighting about 5 kgs and of height 46.5 cms. On the 25th year of the awards, these statuettes were made in silver, while the 50th year was celebrated with these awards made from gold.
Various awards in the Filmfare Awards South
Till the year 2011, each of the four regional language movie industries had 10 categories for which the Filmfare Awards South were presented. These were across the creative awards like actor, actresses, best film, best director, best supporting actor, supporting actress, music director, lyricist and male and female playback singers. There are also awards for various technical categories, while those for comedian and villain have been stopped.
Since their inception, the Filmfare Awards South has created a niche respect for itself. Artists yearn to be bestowed with these honours and when they receive these awards in different categories, they have a fulfilling experience as their work gets recognised across the masses as well as well known film personalities.
Photo Gallery