‘Chithan’ who won the national award in 2003, has won the state’s Best Actor Award for 2003. The Best Actress Award goes without a doubt to Laila! She gets it for her spirited portrayal in ‘Pithamagan.’
There are some surprises in the announcement of the Tamilnadu state film awards, especially where ‘Eera Nilam’ and ‘Power of Women’ is concerned. Usually, commercially successful films are in the reckoning for best film award, so it is a welcome surprise that Bharatiraja’s ‘Eera Nilam’ has won the Best Film award for 2003.
The second best film award goes to ‘Power of Women’ in which singer Hariharan has acted. The third best film award goes to ‘Parthiban Kanavu’ directed by Karu Palaniappan. Srikanth who starred in this film gets the special prize in the best actor category. Samudrakani’s ‘Unnai Charanadainthen’ gets best story and its heroine Meera Vasudevan gets special prize in the best actress category for 2003.
Among the 7 awards that ‘Parthiban Kanavu’ gets, the most prestigious is the best director award for K Palaniappan, who has not had any film release after that. This should be very encouraging for him.
Jayam Ravi gets the best actor award for 2004 for his role in ‘M Kumaran, son of Mahalakshmi.’ Jyotika gets best actress award for her role in ‘Perazhagan.’ ‘Autograph’ is best film of 2004, ‘Vishwa Thulasi’ by female debut making director gets second and Malayalam film re-make ‘Kannaadi Pookkal’ gets third prize. Cheran missed the national award for best director, but has got the state award.
Apart from this, announcements were also made for the Arignar Anna Awards, Raja Chando Awards, MGR Awards, Kavignar Kannadasan Awards, Nadigar Thilakam Sivaji Ganesan Awards and Thyagaraja Bhagavathar Awards. It is heartening to note that films that did not quite create a stir but are important in the field of art, have been recognized by the Tamilnadu Govt.
The following is the list of Tamilnadu State Awards and recipients.
For 2003
Best Actor - Vikram (Pithamagan)
Best Actress – Laila (Pithamagan)
Special prize in Best Actor Category - Srikanth (Parthiban Kanavu)
Special prize in Best Actress Category – Meera Vasudevan (Unnai Charanadainthen)
Best Film (I Prize) - Eera Nilam
Best Film (II Prize) - Power of Women
Best Film (III Prize) - Parthiban Kanavu
Special Prize - Kamaraj
Best Villain – Riaz Khan (Power of Women)
Best Comedian (male) - Vivek (Parthiban Kanavu)
Best Comedian (female) - Devadarshini (Parthiban Kanavu)
Character actor - Alex (Kovilpatti Veeralakshmi)
Character Actress - Sangeetha (Pithamagan)
Director – Karu Palaniappan (Parthiban Kanavu)
Story - Samudrakani (Unnai Charanadainthen)
Dialogues - Thenmozhi (Eera Nilam)
Music Director – Harris Jayaraj (Kaka Kaaka)
Lyricist - Kapilan (Parthiban Kanavu)
Cinematography - Ekambaram (Iyarkai)
Editor - Jaishankar (Arasu Darbar)
For 2004
Best Actor – Jayam Ravi (M Kumaran, son of Mahalakshmi)
Best Actress - Jyotika (Perazhagan)
Special prize in Best Actor Category - Kutti (Dancer)
Special prize in Best Actress Category - Sandhya (Kaadhal)
Best Film (I Prize) - Autograph
Best Film (II Prize) – Vishwa Thulasi
Best Film (III Prize) – Kannaadi Pookkal
Special Prize - M Kumaran, son of Mahalakshmi
Best Villain - Robert (Dancer)
Best Comedian (male) - Mayilsami (Kangalaal Kaidhu Sei)
Best Comedian (female) - Kanthimathi (Oru Murai Sollividu)
Character actor - Radharavi (Oru Murai Sollividu)
Character actress - Seetha (Rightaa Thappaa)
Director - Cheran (Autograph)
Story - Hariram (Uyirosai)
Dialogue – Prasanna Kumar (M Kumaran, son of Mahalakshmi)
Music Director – Srikanth Deva (M Kumaran, son of Mahalakshmi)
Lyricist - Snehan (Perazhagan)
Cinematography – B Kannan (Kangalaal Kaidhu Sei)
Editor - Anthony (Madura
