IIFA Utsavam has seen some of the finest films from the south bagging the most prestigious awards there is and 2017 was no different from the previous scenarios. It was one of the most gorgeous award shows around the globe sponsored by Fortune Sunflower Oil, a worthy sponsor of such a night of glamour. All the who’s who of the Telugu and Kannada film industry gathered to honour the best of the industry. There were certain winners who went away with all the glory, but it was an event that left everyone contented.
The films that won the awards were full of some of the biggest names and there were some surprises too in various sectors. The event spanned two fateful days with the entire glitz gathering for the second instalment of the event. Wednesday night was a special night, to say the least, for everyone associated with the industry.
The big winners of the night
Telugu film Janatha Garage won the best film for the Telugu industry while for Kannada; the honour went to Kirik Party. The best Telugu film also saw one of its biggest stars in the form of Jr. NTR. Janatha Garage was a brilliant film by all means, but it also had a remarkable star cast. It featured one of the biggest names in Malayalam cinema, Mohanlal in one of the important roles and it is hardly surprising to see it getting as many as six awards among the Telugu industry.
Koratala Siva got the prestigious award of best director for the same film with Jr. NTR bagging the award for the best male lead too. Ramajogayya Sastry won the award for writing the best lyrics, associated with the same film. On the other hand, the music direction of the film was top notch too which helped Devi Sri Prasad bag the all important award. Similarly, the best female playback was won by Geetha Madhuri, which meant the most of the prestigious awards went to the film.
The other winners
Krish Jagarlamudi, who has already won a national award, won another important award for the best story for his film Kanche which has also been critically acclaimed across the industry. In the comedy section, Priyadarshi Pullikonda was a surprise for everyone as the role in Pelli Choopulu caught everyone’s eye. It was also one of the reasons why the film was a surprise hit to an extent.
For the best female lead, A…Aa’s female lead Samantha Ruth Prabhu was the clear winner and Jagapathi Babu won the best villain award for Nannaku Prematho, which also had Jr. NTR. Haricharan Seshadri was the winner of male playback for his rendition in the film Krishna Gaadi Veera Prema Gadha. For Premam and Rudhramadevi, Anupama Parameswaran and Allu Arjun won the supporting roles awards.
The Kannada winners
Kirik Party, Kannada’s best film by some margin, stole the show as Rakshit Shetty’s fantastic film won five awards that included lead male role award and lyrics for the director himself and music director Ajaneesh Loknath got his accolade too for being the best. Vijay Prakash shone as the best male singer from the same film.
However, Pawan Kumar was the obvious winner of the best story and best director for his refreshingly new paranormal thriller. U-Turn, the film that was a surprise sensation all around, did decent business too. Parul Yadav won best female lead for Killing Veerappan directed by Bollywood Maverick Ram Gopal Varma. Yagna Shetty won the supporting role award from the same film. Vasishta was recognized as the best villain for Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu while Rakshit Shetty won the best supporting male for the same film. Inchara Rao also got the best playback female award.