Artistes performing a cinematic dance at the South Indian International Movie Awards 2019 at the Lusail Indoor Arena yesterday. Pics: Salim Matramkot/The Peninsula
South Indian International Movie Awards (SIIMA) saw a spectacular start at the Lusail Indoor Arena, yesterday.
Pantaloons SIMMA 2019, a two-day ceremony to honour the best in filmmaking in the four southern states of India.
The eighth SIIMA is spread over two days and rewarded artistic and technical achievements of the Telugu and Kannada film industry on the first day. Tamil and Malayalam film awards will be presented today.
Chiranjeevi, more known as the mega star of Telugu cinema industry, graced the evening. Indian Ambassador to Qatar, P Kumaran and several other dignitaries were also present at the event.
Hundreds of South Indian stars are in Doha for the movie awards extravaganza and many of the film fraternity were spotted walking the red carpet, yesterday. They included Yuwan Shanker Raja, Radika Sharathkumar, Ananya Bahat, Adhviti Shetty, Rajasree Ponnappa, Niddhi Agrewal, Anasuya, Devi Sri Prasad and Shriya Saran.
A moment of silence was observed for departed souls of film industry and casualties of Kerala floods at the beginning of the event.
Indian Ambassador to Qatar, P Kumaran (fifth left), Doha Bank Group CEO, Dr R Seetharaman and Telugu mega star Chiranjeevi with other guests during the first day of South Indian International Movie Awards at the Lusail Indoor Arena in Doha yesterday.
The evening started with a short documentary on the journey of Pantaloons SIIMA, since 2012. The event was hosted by Priyadharshini, Rahul Ramakrishnan and Suma Kanakkala in Telugu, while Vijay and Anupama hosted in Kanada.
The show, taking place during the 2019 Qatar – India Year of Culture, will give 100 awards in 50 categories. South Indian movie fans also watched scintillating performances and mesmerizing acts of their favorite stars.
SIIMA, which is held outside India, aims to introduce a broader audience to South India cinema, continuing to build upon the ever-widening popularity of Indian cinema. The previous editions of SIIMA were held in countries such as Singapore and Malaysia.
The eighth SIIMA is held in partnership with Qatar National Tourism Council (QNTC), Ministry of Culture and Sports, Qatar Airways, Teyseer Motors, W Doha, Doha Bank, Al Mana Leasing, Gulf Car, Royal Regis, Talabat, Rayyan Water, and 98.6 Radio Malayalam.
The event is managed by One FM 89.6 and hosting thousands of people celebrating South Indian cinema over the two days.
