Cinema, shenanigans and superstars: SIIMA 2016 was a smash hit

Glitz and glamour, pomp and show, grit and glory, awards and accolades ��� Godrej Goldilocks SIIMA 2016, in its fifth edition, had all the trappings of a perfect South Indian potboiler. If the red carpet shenanigans of reigning divas of tinseltown set the temperatures soaring, the high octane naach-gaana and drama on stage kept the entertainment quotient at an all-time high. And of course, for all those who walked away with awards in hand, there was a happy ending too.

Held at the swanky Suntec Convention and Exhibition Centre, Singapore, the two-day extravaganza that celebrates South Indian cinema and recognises talent from Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada film industries got off to a glitzy start on Day 1, with Bhallaladeva Rana Daggubati welcoming Singapore���s South Indian diaspora in true filmy fashion, complete with a punch dialogue. Taking the baton from him were hosts for the evening, Lakshmi Manchu and Ali, who had the audience in splits with their easy banter through the four-hour show. Sandalwood���s Akul brought in a fresh dash of humour with his brilliant emceeing as well. The first evening, which awarded the best talent of Telugu and Kannada films of 2015, saw a stellar attendance from stars across the South, including matinee idols Chiranjeevi, Khushbu, Vikram, Suhasini, Rana, Allu Arjun, Puneeth Rajkumar, Nithya Menen, and more. Huma Qureshi���s presence added Bollywood glam to the do, while Kabir Bedi made an appearance to mark his foray into South cinema. The stalwarts cheered on as veteran playback singer S Janaki was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement award. Brilliantly choreographed song and dance acts by Pragya Jaiswal, Pranitha Subhash and Rachita Ram added a filmy tadka to the show. The highlight however was Sayeesha���s tribute to the big four of Telugu cinema ��� Chiranjeevi, Nagarjuna, Venkatesh and Balakrishna. In what was her first ever stage performance, she shimmied to hit numbers of all four stalwarts and also pulled off Chiru���s iconic ���Veena Step��� like no one else did before. Devi Sri Prasad impressed with a high-energy gig, which had the whole crowd on its feet.
Day 2, which was dedicated to Tamil and Malayalam films, saw the auditorium packed to capacity with Singapore���s milling Tamil-speaking population. And keeping them entertained were a bunch of funny men and lovely women ��� Shiva, Sateesh, Ranjini Haridas and Dhanya.
Star power on day two was stellar too ��� with Vikram, Nivin Pauly, Prithviraj, Nayanthara, Radhika Apte and more making their presence felt. Veteran filmmaker Panchu Arunachalam was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement award. Hansika, Amyra Dastur, Aishwarya Rajesh and Huma Qureshi put up some sexy performances. Malayalam star Neeraj Madhav was the only male actor to perform; and he set some pretty high standards. The rockstar of the evening though was Anirudh. He made a smashing entry, complete with exotic dancers and dragons, and had the crowd on their feet for 10 whole minutes; that too at 2.30 in the morning. It was a fitting finale to the grand filmy weekend.