The 59th Idea Filmfare Awards 2011 (South): A starry night

The 59th Idea Filmfare Awards 2011 (South) was a fun-filled night that had actors and technicians, young and old, celebrating the fact that they all belong to one big family. And the evening���������s winners proved that the Black Lady recognizes both commercial and offbeat cinema.
If Tollywood blockbuster Dookudu that starred Mahesh Babu stole the show with six awards, in Sandalwood, Mollywood, and Kollywood, offbeat cinema stole the thunder. Sanju Weds Geetha (Kannada) and Pranayam (Malayalam) won four awards each, while the Tamil film Aadukalam fetched the team five awards, which included a technical award for cinematography.
The evening also saw the celebration of two living legends, veteran director SP Muthuraman and actor Seema Sasi, who received their awards to standing ovations. The evening also saw child actor Annie walk away as the Best Supporting Actor (Female) in Telugu for her role in the Nagarjuna-starrer Rajanna.
One for the team
Filmmaking is a team effort and Sandalwood���������s top stars, Puneet Rajkumar and Ramya, dedicated their wins at the 59th Idea Filmfare Awards (South) to everyone who made their victory possible. While Puneet won his award for his performance as the selfless friend in Hudugaru, Ramya took the Best Actor (Female) Award for her gritty show in the tragic love story Sanju Weds Geetha. ���������This is for my team, especially for (Srinagara) Kitty and Yogi, my co-actors. I���������d like to thank Samuthirakani for writing such a lovely script and director Madhesh for adapting it so well to Kannada sensibilities. It was a great team to work with, and, coincidentally, my first multi-starrer,��������� said Puneet.
Ramya, who was dressed in a black-and-gold one-shoulder outfit, was emotional when she received her award. ���������The film is very special to me because we battled financial hardships and extreme weather conditions. We had a quiet release and the film ended up being one of the blockbusters of 2011,��������� she said.
Acts galore
The evening had many performances, which included acts by Sanjjanaa, Poorna, Richa Gangopadhyay, Shruti Haasan, Priya Mani, Tamannaah, Rima Kallingal and Dhanush. There was an interesting mix of hit numbers of this year and the last year too, from all four languages, which had the stars singing along.
Thanks dad
An interesting moment on stage was when Shruti Haasan won the Best Debut ��������� Female award from her father Kamal Haasan. She sought his blessings and embraced him before receiving the award. Ulaganayan stayed back till Shruti���������s performance and then congratulated her backstage before he left.
A song to sing
The night also had many happy moments when host Chinmayi got several actors to sing. Vikram decided to sing Thenpandi from Nayagan, but not before apologizing to Kamal Haasan. Karthi sang his brother Suriya���������s hit number Anjale from Varanam Aayiram, while Udhayanidhi Stalin sang the song Vena Machan from Oru Kal Oru Kannadi. Mahesh Babu shied away from the microphone saying, ���������I���������m not a good singer, I never sing.���������
The title sponsor of the 59th Idea Filmfare Awards 211 (South) was Idea, while the associate sponsors were Vijay Shanthi and C. Krishniah Chetty & Sons. The telecast partners are Vijay TV, Maa TV, Suvarna TV and Asianet. Radio partner is Radio Mirchi. Other partners include Black Dog, hospitality partner Hyatt Regency, fashion partner Reliance Trends, multiplex partner Khushi Advertising, trophy partner The Award Gallery, event consultants were Oxygen Entertainment and event management was by Percept.
Tickled pink!
Pink was the favoured hue of this glittering star-studded evening, with Shruti Haasan, Sharmila Mandre, and Richa Gangopadhyay turned out in rosy shades. Saris too made a fashion statement at this dazzling do and we spotted Amy Jackson, Shruti Haasan, Sarah-Jane Dias, Sanjjanaa and Ananya, among others, gracefully carrying themselves in their nine-yard splendour. Actor Priya Mani, though, chose to wear a yellow dress on the red carpet.
Dhanush goes local The Kolaveri Di star Dhanush made quite a style statement attired in a gold-bordered veshti teamed with a white shirt. The actor, who also performed his hit number, won the Best Actor award in Tamil for Aadukalam, had a teary-eyed moment, when he called his parents to the stage and dedicated his award to them.
I���������m the heroine
Shruthi, who won her fifth Filmfare Award, this time as the Best Supporting Actor (Female) for Puttakkana Highway, had a rather interesting speech. While she thanked the jury for giving her an award for this film, which ���������is so dear��������� to her heart, she said, ���������I played Puttakka in the film, which means the entire script revolved around me.���������
First time winner
Best Supporting Actor Ravishankar, who has won many laurels as a dubbing artist, said, ���������This award is special because it is my first award as an actor. I feel ecstatic that I���������ve won the Black Lady for Kempegowda. It motivates me to win more laurels.��������� Kannada songs rocked Actors Priya Mani and Sanjjanaa danced to Kannada numbers, much to the delight of Sandalwood fans. While Sanjjanaa performed to a medley of four Kannada numbers, Gaganave from Sanju Weds Geetha, Pyaarge Aagbittaithe from Govindaya Namaha, Mylapura Mylari from Mylari and Pankaja from Hudugaru, Priya Mani danced to Oorigoble Padmavathi from Johnny Mera Naam...