The 11th edition of the South Indian International Movie Awards (SIIMA) became truly international this year, as the prestigious award ceremony that rewards the feats of the South Indian film and entertainment industries was held in Dubai yesterday amid tremendous glitz and fanfare.
The award ceremony started around 7 pm yesterday at the Dubai World Trade Centre and continued till the wee hours today. The glittering event was attended by stars, celebrities and the who’s who of the four dominant South Indian film and entertainment industries, namely Telegu, Kannada, Tamil and Malayalam.
S.S Rajamouli’s Oscar-winning Telegu movie, RRR, bagged 11 nominations in total across various categories in the SIIMA Awards this year while other prominent South movies such as Kantara (Kannada), Vikram (Tamil) and Rocketry: The Numby Effect (Tamil) also received several nominations.
As far as the nominations of the SIIMA Awards are concerned, they are selected by a jury, while the winners of each category are decided by the audience through mass public polling.
This year, Jr. NTR won it big, carrying on with his Oscar glories and bagging the Best Actor Award in a Leading Role
He outpolled his co-actor in the movie, superstar Ram Charan who was also nominated in the same category.
The young and gorgeous Mrunal Thakur won the Best Debutant Actress Award for her superb performance in the Telegu movie, Sita Raman, which also won the Best Film Award (Telegu) in the ceremony.
The Best Film Award for Kannada movie was given to 777 Charlie while Director and Actor Rishab Shetty won the Critics Choice Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his memorable acting in the movie, Kantara.