State film awards to be presented on Sat

Thiruvananthapuram: The J C Daniel Award for overall contribution to Malayalam cinema and state film awards will be distributed at a function to be held at Nishagandhi auditorium here on Saturday at 6 pm. Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan will distribute the awards.

The J C Daniel award, which comprises a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh, a citation and statuette, will be presented to veteran actress Sheela. The government will also be honouring several veteran film artistes who made valuable contributions to the industry, at the event.

“The government is planning to come out with a special edition of the state film awards next year, as it would be the golden jubilee year since the institution of the awards in 1969,” cultural affairs minister A K Balan told reporters here on Wednesday. The awards were given in 15 categories in 1969 while the number has now increased to 32.

Among this year's awardees are Sherif C (producer and director of the best film ‘Kanthan’), Shyamaprasad (best director), Jayasurya and Soubin Shahir (sharing the best actor award), Nimisha (best actress) and Vijay Yesudas (best playback singer-male). The veterans to be honoured are film producer R S Babu, actress and dubbing artiste T R Omana, actress and singer C S Radhadevi, actress Neyyattinkara Komalam, actor G K Pillai, Vipin Mohan (child artiste in Neelakkuyil) and actor Jagathy Sreekumar.