I n a movie-crazy city like mana Hyderabad, the acid test for any Telugu film is to win the audiences’ hearts. And the first-ever Hyderabad Times Film Awards instituted by The Times of India gave readers a platform to make their verdict loud and clear!
The nominations who deserved to win top honours were announced in Hyderabad Times and readers voted on www.itimes.com/polls. After over a month of voting, the winners were selected based on our vote and 7.9 lakh online votes.
| Categories | Winners |
| Best Actor Male | Mahesh Babu (Dookudu) |
| Best Actor Female | Tamannaah (100% Love) |
| Best Film | Dookudu |
| Best Director | Sreenu Vaitla (Dookudu) |
| Best Music Director | Thaman (Dookudu) |
| Best Lyrics | Sirivenella Sitarama Sastry (Mr Perfect) |
| Best Singer Male | SP Balasubramaniam (Jagadanandakaraka – Sri Ramarajyam) |
| Best Singer Female | Shreya Ghoshal (Chali Chaliga in Mr Perfect) |
| Best Youth Film | 100% Love |
| Promising Newcomer Male | Aadi (Prema Kavali) |
| Promising Newcomer female | Nithya Menen (Ala Modalaindi) |
| Best Actor in a Negative Role Male | Kota Srinivasa Rao (Dookudu) |
| Best Actor in a Negative Role Female | Lakshmi Manchu (Anaganaga O Dheerudu) |
| Best Screenplay | Nandini Reddy (Ala Modalaindi) |
| Best Actor in a Comic Role | Brahmanandam (Dookudu) |
Director Sreenu Vaitla’s “Dookudu” emerged as the unanimous favourite, bagging 6 of the 15 awards. Mahesh Babu with his ‘mind lo fix ayithe blind ga vellipotha’ performance in the movie was adjudged as the Best Actor Male. “This is the best film in my career, so it’s special to be receiving this award. Sreenu Vaitla came up with a sensational script and music director Thaman gave wonderful music. I thank all the technicians and co-stars who worked hard for the success of the film”, Mahesh Babu said.
Tamannaah’s alluring teenage act in director Sukumar’s college romance, “100% Love” won her the Best Actor Female award. An excited Tamannaah says, “I would like to thank Hyderabad Times and everybody who voted for me. I would also like to thank producer Allu Aravind, director Sukumar, my co-star Naga Chaitanya and all the technicians of this film for this award.”
Best Film — Dookudu “Dookudu” set a new benchmark for a complete family entertainer in Tollywood, combining all the commercial elements and dishing out a little bit of everything for everyone. Producers Anil Sunkara, Ram Achanta and Gopi Achanta created history in their first project together. “The movie is our first joint production and we are very happy that the film became a blockbuster. We would like to thank Hyderabad Times and the people who voted for this film as the Best Film. Director Sreenu Vaitla is our friend and he helped us in making the film. Special thanks to superstar Mahesh Babu, who made this film a blockbuster. Encouraged by this success, we will strive to make more good films in the near future.”
Best Director — Sreenu Vaitla (Dookudu)
Director Sreenu Vaitla’s brand of wholesome entertainment, full of punch dialogues, slapstick comedy, father sentiment, breathtaking action sequences and chartbusting music, struck a chord with the audiences like never before and went on to become the highest grosser ever in Tollywood. “This film’s success is a result of everyone’s hard work. I would like to thank each and every technician who worked for this film’s success. A special thanks to superstar Mahesh Babu for a brilliant performance. I thank Hyderabad Times and also the people who voted for me as Best Director,” says Sreenu Vaitla.
Best Music Director — Thaman (Dookudu)
The tunes that music director Thaman composed for “Dookudu” are still rocking the radio stations. The affable music director has grown to become a household name in Tollywood with his numerous peppy numbers, making him the most prolific music directors in all of South India. Thaman says, “It always feels good to know that people have voted for me to win this award, because it is the people’s choice. I would like to thank Hyderabad Times for this honour. I would like to thank director Sreenu Vaitla and superstar Mahesh Babu for giving me this wonderful opportunity.”
Best Lyrics — Sirivennela Sitarama Sastry (for Badulu tochani from Mr Perfect)
One of the finest writers in Tollywood, Sirivennela Sitarama Sastry has lent his pen to many super hit songs in the last 26 years. Making his debut with director K Vishwanath’s super hit flick “Sirivennela”, the lyricist has carved a niche for himself with his hold over the classical Telugu verse. From romantic duets and devotional songs to tragic numbers, he has left an indelible mark on the Telugu film industry. His composition “Badulu Tochani…” from “Mr Perfect” has been voted as the best song of the year. “As a principle, I do not comment on the awards for it is the song that has won the award. But it feels great to be receiving this people’s award,” he said.
He is 66 years old, has been singing since 1966 and has lent his voice to over 40,000 songs in many Indian languages. His dulcet voice, however, continues to enthrall the audience unabated, both the young and the old alike. The singer showed us once again why he is in a class of his own with his mellifluous rendition of “Sri Jagadanandakaraka…” from the Balakrishna-starrer “Sri Rama Rajyam”. The Ilayaraja composition has caught the imagination of the audience as it continues to be one of the most downloaded songs on the Internet and has become a hugely popular mobile ringtone as well. A lot of the credit deservedly goes to the one and only SP Balasubramaniam.
Best Singer Male — SP Balasubramaniam (for Jagadanandakaraka from Sri Ramarajyam)
Best Singer Female — Shreya Ghoshal (for Chali Chaliga from Mr perfect)
Ever since she made her national-award-winning debut in 2002 with “Devdas”, singer Shreya Ghoshal has gone on to become a household name down South as well. Her mellifluous voice and singing pedigree was exploited to perfection by music director Devi Sri Prasad in the romantic melody “Chali Chali Ga…” in “Mr Perfect”. The singer pipped the likes of Chinmayi (of “Ye Maya Chesave” fame), Priya Hemesh (“Diyalo Diyalo” from “100% Love”), Ramya (“Puvvai Puvvai” from “Dookudu” and Suchitra (“Ye Pilla Pilla” from “Dhada”), to emerge as the crowd favourite for her rendition.
Director Sukumar successfully re-invented the tried and tested bava-maradalu bond, giving it a cute, contemporary classroom twist in “100% Love”. Naga Chaitanya and Tamannaah played the hormone-charged scheming cousins trying to outwit each other in topping the class. Producer Bunny Vasu says, “I would like to thank Hyderabad Times and also the people who voted for “100% Love” as the Best Youth film. I would like to thank Allu Aravind garu as he is the person who encouraged us a lot. I would like to especially thank director Sukumar and all the technicians who worked hard on this film.”
Promising Newcomer Male — Aadi (Prema Kavali) Making his debut with a no-frills-attached romantic entertainer “Prema Kavali”, debutant Aadi made a confident start to his career, doing a good job of emoting, dancing and pulling off stunts in his very first outing. He is surely the one to watch out for in the future, and he already has scored another hit with “Lovely” earlier this year. The young actor is super excited about winning this award. “I can’t tell you how excited I am. I just could not hope for a better start to my career than this. It has been a great year-and-a-half or so for me in showbiz and I offer my heartfelt thanks to the audience for accepting me. I will strive to work harder with every film to live up to their expectations,” says Aadi.
Promising Newcomer Female — Nithya Menen (Ala Modalaindi) The curly haired Malayali beauty, Nithya Menen’s bubbly act in “Ala Modalaindi” wowed the Tollywood audiences so much that it drew comparisons with the late Soundarya. The petite actress admittedly never wanted to be an actress in the first place, but destiny seemed to have different plans for her. Nithya, who grew up in Bangalore, acted as a child artiste when she was just seven in an Indian-made English film with Tabu. Later, she debuted in Mohanlal’s offbeat film “Aakasha Gopuram”, but it was Anjali Menon’s “Yatra” — one among the 10 short films made as “Kerala Cafe” — that established her as an actress. Since then, she has acted in over a dozen films in all South Indian languages.
Best Youth Film — (100% Love)
Best Actor in a Negative Role Male — Kota Srinivasa Rao (Dookudu)
Actor Kota Srinivasa Rao has played the scheming politician innumerable times in the past, yet he managed to pull something out-of-the-box, playing the corrupt Mallesh Yadav in “Dookudu”. The veteran actor shared his excitement saying, “I would like to thank Hyderabad Times and also the people who voted for me as Best Villain. I earlier worked with director Sreenu Vaitla and we make a good combination. In “Dookudu” too, I got to play a challenging role. Awards are always welcome, it feels good when your work is recognised and appreciated.”
(Anaganaga O Dheerudu) Not many actresses would have the gumption to make their silver screen debut playing a witch, but Lakshmi Manchu showed that she has a scary side to her as well with her portrayal of Irendri the sorceress. “It was by far the most difficult role I have played. Not just mentally, but physically as well, it was a herculean effort to carry off those almost ‘furniture material’ costumes. I don’t remember how many times I fainted doing that role. In fact, there were times when I would lift my skirt and sit in front of the fan to let some air inside. It was a pretty intense experience. But the effort has paid off and it feels great to be appreciated for a role that I did so far back then. Thank you Hyderabad Times and everyone who voted for me,” says Lakshmi.
Best Actor in a Negative Role Female — Manchu Lakshmi
Best Screenplay — Nandini Reddy (Ala Modalaindi) With no factionist fathers, no melodrama, no larger-than-life action episodes and no item numbers in her film, first-time director Nandini Reddy showed the power of good old-fashioned love in “Ala Modalaindi”, bringing back romance onto the screen, while crafting the most wholesome fun film. Little wonder then that the movie went on to win a slew of accolades. “Ala Modalaindi” is my first film as director. It always feels good to be appreciated and this award is that much more special as it is coming from the people at large. I would like to thank Hyderabad Times and also the people who voted for me as Best Screenplay Writer,” says Nandini sharing her excitement.
Best Actor in a Comic Role — Brahmanandam (Dookudu)
Brahmanandam is the undisputed king of gags in Tollywood and he proved once again that nobody can make us laugh the way he can by playing the goofy wannabe actor who is taken for a ride by Mahesh and co in “Dookudu”. His comic timing combined with his trademark expressions sent the crowds in raptures. “I would like to thank Hyderabad Times and everyone who voted for me. I share a great working equation with director Sreenu Vaitla, having worked in films like “Ready”, “Dhee”, and “Dubai Seenu” in the past. In “Dookudu” we managed to take slapstick comedy to another level and I feel very happy that people liked it.”
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