MUMBAI: It's awards time yet again and this time it comes from down South. In its fifth year now, the Jeeva Asianet Awards 2004 are scheduled to take place on 7 March in Cochin.
One of Kerela's biggest ever film awards, the Asianet Awards honour the best of Malayalam cinema where winners are decided entirely by popular polls. The ads for the same have started appearing in major dailies like The Times of India in the northern parts of the country and The Hindu and The Indian Express in the South.
Says Asianet CEO Mohan Nair, "The Jeeva Asianet awards are the only awards that offer the highest amount of prize money to the winners. There are around 45 Malyalam movies in the competition for the Best Movie award. There is also a Lifetime Achievement award which will be awarded to someone who has been held in high esteem in the industry."
The Best Film will get a prize of Rs 1,25,000; Best Director - Rs 75,000; Best Actor/Actress - Rs 50,000 each and winners of all other categories will get a cash prize of Rs 25,000 along with citations and trophies.
Adds Nair, "We have signed up with the Malayalam Cine Artists Association (AMMA) in Kerela and they will be providing us with artists for the awards. Popular Malayam artists will be performing at the awards this year."
The winners of the awards in the various categories will be selected by an independent jury based on the nominations received from the Asianet viewers and general public. The nomination forms which have appeared in newspapers should be filled and sent to the Asianet office before 9 February. "Special efforts have been made by the committee so that there are no chances of the awards being rigged," says Nair.
The awards will be aired on Asianet a week after they take place. Says Nair, "The Asianet awards have always garnered good TRP ratings for us for the five years and we expect the same this time round too."
For the past few years, the Asianet Awards have been associated with brands like Johnson & Johnson and Lux. This time round it has been associated with Jeeva - The complete ayurvedic soap. Brands like Anchor White toothpaste and Anchor Roma switches are also associated with the awards this year.
