The Kalaimamani is the highest civilian award in the state of
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...
, India. These awards are given by the ''Tamil Nadu Iyal Isai Nataka Mandram'' (literature, music and theatre), a unit of the Directorate of Art and Culture,
Government of Tamil Nadu
The Government of Tamil Nadu () is the administrative body responsible for the governance of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Chennai is the capital of the state and houses the state executive, legislature and head of judiciary.
Under the Const ...
, to recognise artists in the state for their achievements.
The Tamil Nadu government has appointed dancer Chitra Visweswaran as the secretary of Tamil Nadu Iyal Isai Nataka Manram. Film music director Deva is its chairman.
Sivaji Ganesan
Villupuram. Chinnaiya Manrayar Ganesamoorthy (1 October 1928 – 21 July 2001), better known by his stage name Sivaji Ganesan, was an Indian actor and film producer. He was mainly active in Tamil cinema during the latter half of the 20th centur ...
1968–69
The individuals listed below were recipients of the Kalaimamani for the year 1968–69.
;Actor
* K. A. Thangavelu
;Music
*K. S. Narayanaswamy (vainika)
1969–1970
;Actor
*
Sowcar Janaki
Sankaramanchi Janaki (born 12 December 1931), widely known as Sowcar Janaki, is an Indian actress known for her works in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. In a career spanning over seven decades, Janaki has appeared in nearly 390 fil ...
The individuals listed below were recipients of the Kalaimamani for the year 1971–72.
;Music
* Madras A. Kannan (mridangam)
*G. N. Dhandapani Iyer (veena)
1972–73
;Actor
*
J. Jayalalithaa
Jayaram Jayalalithaa (24 February 1948 – 5 December 2016), popularly known as Amma, was an Indian actress, politician, and philanthropist who served as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu for more than fourteen years between 1991 and 2016. She ...
;Music
*P. K. Subbaiyar
1977–78
;Actor
*
Srividya
Srividya (24 July 1953 – 19 October 2006), was an Indian actress best known for her work predominantly in Malayalam and Tamil films, along with few Telugu, Kannada and Hindi films. In a career spanning for 40 years, she had acted in more t ...
1978–79
;Actor
*
Kamal Haasan
Parthasarathy Srinivasan (born 7 November 1954), known professionally as Kamal Haasan, is an Indian actor, filmmaker and politician who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. Considered as one of the most accomplished actors of Indian Cinema, Haas ...
1979–1980
;Actor
*
Vyjayanthimala
Vyjayanthimala Bali ( Raman; born 13 August 1933), known mononymously as Vyjayanthimala, is an Indian parliamentarian, dancer and former actress. Regarded as one of Hindi cinema's greatest actresses and dancers, she is the recipient of sever ...
;Music
*
Manna Dey
Prabodh Chandra Dey (; 1 May 1919 − 24 October 2013), known by his stage name Manna Dey, was an Indian playback singer, music director, and musician. He had a classical music background, being part of the Bhendibazaar gharana, Bhendibazaar Gh ...
1980–81
The individuals listed below were recipients of the Kalaimamani for the year 1980–81.
;Actors
*
Sripriya
Sripriya is an Indian former actress, film director and politician from Tamil Nadu. She has acted in over 300 films in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi languages.
She has also directed films in Tamil, Kannada and Telugu languages, ...
P. Bhanumathi
P. Bhanumathi Ramakrishna (7 September 1925 – 24 December 2005) was an Indian actress, singer, film producer, director, music composer, and novelist. She is regarded as the first female super star of Telugu cinema. She is also considered the ...
1984–85
;Actors
*
Rajinikanth
Shivaji Rao Gaikwad (born 12 December 1950), known professionally as Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 170 films that includes films in Tamil, Hindi, ...
*Sabhapati Srinivas
1986–87
The individuals listed below were recipients of the Kalaimamani for the year 1986–87.
;Music
*
K. J. Yesudas
Kattassery Joseph Yesudas ( /jeːʃud̪aːs/; born 10 January 1940) is an Indian playback singer and musician who sings Indian classical, devotional and film songs. He is widely considered one of the greatest singers in the history of Indian m ...
(singer)
*
S. Janaki
Sistla Janaki (born 23 April 1938) is an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is widely referred to as Janaki Amma and Nightingale of India(nightingale of South) . She is one of the greatest playback singers in the history ...
Ilaiyaraaja
Ilaiyaraaja (born R. Gnanathesikan) is an Indian musician, composer, arranger, conductor, orchestrator, multi-instrumentalist, lyricist and playback singer popular for his works in Indian cinema, predominately in Tamil cinema, Tamil in addition ...
(composer)
1991–92
The individuals listed below were recipients of the Kalaimamani for the year 1991–92.
;Actor
*
Sukumari
Sukumari Amma (6 October 1940 – 26 March 2013) was an Indian actress best known for her works in Malayalam and Tamil films. In a career spanning more than five decades, She has appeared in more than 2500 films predominantly in Malayalam, T ...
The individuals listed below were recipients of the Kalaimamani for the year 1992–93.
;Actor
*
Revathi
Asha Kelunni Nair (born 8 July 1966), better known by her stage name Revathi, is an Indian actress and director, known for her works predominantly in Tamil cinema, Tamil and Malayalam cinema - in addition to Telugu language, Telugu, Hindi and ...
The individuals listed below were recipients of the Kalaimamani for the year 1993–94.
;Actors
* R. Sarathkumar
*
Sukanya
Sukanya () is a princess In Hindu mythology. She is the daughter of Sharyati, the son of Vaivasvata Manu, and the wife of the sage Chyavana.
Legend
Marriage
According to the narrative found in the Vana Parva of the Mahabharata, Sage Chya ...
*
S. Ve. Shekher
Sattanathapuram Venkataraman Shekher (born 26 December 1950) is an Indian actor, film director, screenwriter, politician and also a playwright in Tamil language, Tamil-language plays. In 2006, he was elected as an MLA (India), MLA for the All In ...
*
Kathadi Ramamurthy
Sundaresan Ramamurthy (born April 30, 1938) better known as Kathadi Ramamurthy, is an Indian actor, director, writer and dubbing artiste. He is primarily known for his roles as a comedian in Tamil film, theatre and television.
Early life
B ...
*
Delhi Ganesh
Ganesan Mahadevan (1 August 1944 – 9 November 2024), known by his stage name Delhi Ganesh, was an Indian actor who mostly acted in supporting roles in Tamil cinema and serials. He was well known for the versatility of roles he played during h ...
Swarnalatha
Swarnalatha (29 April 1973 – 12 September 2010) was an Indian playback singer. In a career spanning almost 22 years (from 1987 until her death), she recorded over 10,000 songs in many Indian languages, including Tamil language, Tamil, Telugu ...
(singer)
* D. K. Pattammal (carnatic lyricist)
* Sudha Ragunathan (carnatic vocalist)
*P. Ganammal (harmonium)
*T. G. Subramaniam (thavil)
;Other
*L. S. Ramamirtham (tamil literature)
* Malavika Sarukkai (bharatanatyam)
*Sundararaj naidu (karagam artiste)
1994–95
The individuals listed below were recipients of the Kalaimamani for the year 1994–95.
;Actors
*
Arvind Swamy
Arvind Swamy (born 18 June 1970) is an Indian actor, film director and entrepreneur known for his work in Tamil cinema and a few Hindi cinema, Telugu cinema and Malayalam cinema. He was introduced as an actor by Mani Ratnam with the blockbuste ...
*
Khushbu Sundar
Khushbu Sundar (born Nakhat Khan; 29 September 1970) is an Indian politician, actress, film producer and television personality. She is known for her work predominantly in Tamil language films and in a few Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hin ...
;Director
*
Mani Ratnam
Gopalaratnam Subramaniam (born 2 June 1956), known professionally as Mani Ratnam, is an Indian film director, film producer and screenwriter who predominantly works in Tamil cinema and a few Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films.
H ...
;Music
*
A. R. Rahman
Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967), also known by the initialism ARR, is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and philanthropist known for his works in Indian cinem ...
K. S. Chithra
Krishnan Nair Shantakumari Chithra (born 27 July 1963) is an Indian playback singer and Carnatic musician. In a career spanning around five decades, she has recorded over 25,000 Songs in various Indian languages languages such as Tamil, Kann ...
Meena
Meena () is a tribe from northern and western India which is sometimes considered a sub-group of the Bhil community. It used to be claimed they speak Mina language, a
Spurious languages, spurious language. Its name is also transliterated as ' ...
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
*
Thangar Bachan
Thangar Bachan (born 1961) is an Indian film director and actor, cinematographer and novelist. He has served as jury member in National Film Awards.
Early life
Thankar Bachan was born 5 May 1961 in Pathirakottai, a village near Panruti, Cu ...
*
Palani Bharathi
Palani Bharathi or Pazhani Bharathi ( or ) is an Indian writer and lyricist who works in Tamil cinema.
Early life
Palani Bharathi was born in Karaikudi to Sami Palaniappan, a poet, and Kamala. He has a brother and four sisters. Palaniappan w ...
Ajith Kumar
Ajith Kumar Subramaniam (born 1 May 1971) is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Tamil cinema. To date, he has starred in over 63 films, and won four Vijay Awards, three Cinema Express Awards, three Filmfare Awards South and three Ta ...
*
Devayani
Devayani () is a character in Hindu literature. She is described to be the daughter of Shukra, the acharya (preceptor) of the asuras, and his wife Jayanti, the daughter of Indra. She marries King Yayati, and gives birth to two sons — Ya ...
;Music
*
Nithyasree Mahadevan
Nithyasree Mahadevan (born 25 August 1973), also referred to as S. Nithyasree, is a Carnatic musician and playback singer for film songs in many Indian languages. Nithyashree has performed in all major sabhas in India. She has released more tha ...
*
Swarnalatha
Swarnalatha (29 April 1973 – 12 September 2010) was an Indian playback singer. In a career spanning almost 22 years (from 1987 until her death), she recorded over 10,000 songs in many Indian languages, including Tamil language, Tamil, Telugu ...
*Girija Ramaswamy
2001
;Actors
*
Vijayakanth
Vijayaraj Alagarswami (25 August 1952 – 28 December 2023), known by his stage name Vijayakanth, was an Indian actor, filmmaker, philanthropist and politician. He worked in Tamil cinema in a career spanning four decades. He ventured into politi ...
*
Murali
Murali may refer to:
People Mononyms
*Murali (Malayalam actor) (1954–2009), name of Malayalam film actor Muraleedharan Pillai, who appeared in ''Neythukaran'' and ''Aadhaaram''
*Murali (Tamil actor) (1964–2010), Tamil actor who appeared ...
*
Rekha
Bhanurekha Ganesan (; born 10 October 1954), better known by her mononymous stage name Rekha, is an Indian actress who appears predominantly in Hindi films. Acknowledged as one of the finest actresses in Indian cinema, she has starred in mo ...
*
Gundu Kalyanam
Lakshmi Narayanan better knows as Gundu Kalyanam is an Indian actor and director in Tamil cinema, Tamil film industry and active and hardcore member at All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, AIADMK party. He entered cine field in the year ...
*T. K. Pugazhendi
* A. P. Komala
*Radhu S. Radhakrishnan
*T. K. S. Karuppaiah
*'Periyar' Rajavelu
*V. Brinda
;Literature
*M.R. Gurusamy
;Music
*
Shashank Subramanyam
Shashank Subramanyam (born 14 October 1978) is a bamboo flute player from India.
He was born in Rudrapatna, India. He and his wife Shirisha have a daughter and a son, and live in Chennai, India.
References
Living people
1978 births
...
*Vairamangalam Lakshmi Naryanan
*Manakkal S. Rangarajan
*M. A. Sundareswaran (violin)
*Madurai T. Srinivasan (mridangam)
*T. M. Krishnamurthy (mridangam)
*R. Kalyanaraman (ghatam)
*Rajalakshmi Narayanan (veena)
*
Seetha Doraiswamy
Seethamma Doraiswamy ("Seetha Amma Doraiswamy") or Seetha Doraiswamy ( 27 January 1926 – 14 March 2013), was a renowned Carnatic music, Carnatic multi-instrumentalist. She was the last recognised female exponent of a dying Indian instrument, t ...
(jalatarangam)
*Adyar S. Jayaraman (nadhaswaram)
*Thirunageswaram T. R. Govindarajan (thavil)
*Valayapatti S. Malarvannan (thavil)
*P. V. N. Nadhamani (clarinet)
*K.Somu (devotional songs)
*Karandhai G. Damodaran (devotional songs)
*Rathinasabapathy Desikar (thevaram)
;Bharatanatyam
*Udipi Lakshmi Narayanan
*M. V. Narasimhachari
*Vasanthalakshmi Narasimhachari
*Nellai D. Kannan
*T. K. Padmanabhan
*C. R. Radha Badhri
;Folk Arts
*A. Gunavathi (karagam)
*V. Dakshinamurthy (street play).
2002
;Actors
*
Vijayashanti
Moturi Vijaya Shanthi (born 24 June 1966) is an Indian actress, film producer and politician. In a film career spanning 40 years, she has acted in 187 feature films in a variety of roles in various languages predominantly in Telugu language, Te ...
*
Vinu Chakravarthy
Vinu Chakravarthy (15 December 1945 – 27 April 2017) was an Indian actor, screenwriter and director who is known for acting in more than 1000 movies predominately in Tamil films mostly as a comedian, supporting actor or in a villainous role. ...
*
Goundamani
Subramaniyan Karuppaiya (born 25 May 1939), known by his stage name Goundamani, is an Indian actor and comedian who works in Tamil cinema. He is known for his comic duo partnership in Tamil language, Tamil films with fellow actor Senthil. The p ...
*
Senthil
Senthil (born 23 March 1951) is an Indian comedy actor who works in Tamil cinema. He is famous for his comedian roles along with fellow actor Goundamani. The pair dominated the Tamil industry as comedians in the 1980s and 90s.Ananda Shankar Jayant
*C. V. Chandrasekhar
*Mannargudi N. Sakthivadivel
*C. P. Venkatesan
*Yogam Santhanam
*Melattur S. Kumar
;Folk arts
*Sarangapani (karagam)
*P. A. Subbulakshmi Palaamadai (villupattu)
2003
;Actors
*
Prakash Raj
Prakash Raj (born Prakash Rai; 26 March 1965) is an Indian actor, film director, producer, television presenter, and politician. Known for his works in Telugu language, Telugu, Tamil language, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, English language, Engl ...
*
Simran
Simran (Gurmukhi: ਸਿਮਰਨ, pronunciation: ; ; from Sanskrit: , ''smaraṇa'', 'to remember, reminisce, recollect'), in spirituality, is a Hindi and Punjabi word referring to the continuous remembrance of the finest aspect of the self, ...
* Kanaka
* Vivek
*L. Vaidyanathan
*Gajapathy
*Nanjil P. T. Sami
*K. R. Rathinam
;Musical dance
*S. Soundappan
;Music
*Sulochana Pattabhiraman (vocal)
*
Nagai Muralidharan
Nagai Muralidharan (born 4 December 1958 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu) is an Indian Carnatic music, Carnatic violinist. In 2003, he was awarded the Kalaimamani#2003, Kalaimamani by the State Government of Tamil Nadu.
Musical career
Muralidharan beg ...
(violin)
*S. Ravindaran (veena)
*Mannargudi A. Eswaran (mridangam)
*R. Raman (morsing)
*H. Ramakrishnan (konnakkole)
*Mannargudi M. S. K. Sankaranarayanan (nadhaswaram)
*Denkanikotta Mani (thavil)
*Purisai Arunagiri (devotional music)
;Bharatanatyam
*Thanjavur Rajalakshmi
*G. Lakshmi Rajam
*K. S. R. Aniruddha
*Ramya Ramanarayan.
;Folk arts
*Thenmozhi Rajendran (karagam)
*S. Sivasankaran Pillai (Oyilattam)
;Other arts
*'Rocket' Ramanathan (mimicry)
*S. Parthasarathi (for spreading art and culture)
The individuals listed below were recipients of the Kalaimamani for the year 2005.
;Actors
*
Suriya
Saravanan Sivakumar (born 23 July 1975), known professionally as Suriya, is an Indian actor and film producer who primarily works in Tamil films. One of the highest-paid Tamil actors, Suriya is considered as one of the finest actors of Indian ...
*
Jyothika
Jyothika Saravanan (; born 18 October 1978) is an Indian actress and producer who primarily works in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu films. She has received several accolades including a National Film Award, five Filmfare Awards South, four Tamil N ...
*
Vadivelu
Kumaravadivel Natarajan (born 12 September 1960) known professionally as Vadivelu, is an Indian actor, comedian and occasional playback singer, having acted mainly in Tamil cinema. He has at least 290 credits to his name. He was a recipient of ...
Silambarasan
Silambarasan Thesingu Rajendar (born 3 February 1984), popularly known as Simbu or by his initials as STR, is an Indian actor, producer, and playback singer who primarily works in Tamil cinema. He is the eldest son of director T. Rajendar. ...
Anuradha Sriram
Anuradha Sriram (' Mohan; born 9 July 1970) is an Indian carnatic and playback singer and child actress who hails from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. She has sung more than 3500 songs in Tamil, Telugu, Sinhala, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali ...
.
;Tamil film historian
*Vamanan
;Bharatanatyam
*
Leela Samson
Leela Samson (born 6 May 1951) is a Bharatanatyam dancer, choreographer, instructor, writer and actress from India. As a soloist, she is known for her technical virtuosity and has taught Bharatanatyam at Shriram Bhartiya Kala Kendra in Delhi fo ...
2006
The individuals listed below were recipients of the Kalaimamani for the year 2006.
;Actors
*
Jayam Ravi
Ravi Mohan (born 10 September 1980), better known by his former stage name Jayam Ravi, is an Indian actor who works in Tamil cinema. The son of veteran film editor A. Mohan, Ravi made his lead acting debut in ''Jayam (2003 film), Jayam'' (2003) ...
*
Navya Nair
Navya Nair (born Dhanya Veena; 14 October 1985) is an Indian actress who has appeared predominantly in Malayalam cinema along with a few Kannada and Tamil language films.
Early and personal life
Navya Nair was born Dhanya Veena on 14 October ...
Vishal
Vishal may refer to:
People
* Vishal (name), a common Indian given name
* King Vishal, emperor of the Mahabharata era who founded the ancient city of Vishalapura
* Vishal (actor) (born 1977), Indian film actor, producer and anti-piracy activi ...
*
Silambarasan
Silambarasan Thesingu Rajendar (born 3 February 1984), popularly known as Simbu or by his initials as STR, is an Indian actor, producer, and playback singer who primarily works in Tamil cinema. He is the eldest son of director T. Rajendar. ...
*
Jiiva
Amar Choudary (born 4 January 1984), known professionally as Jiiva, is an Indian actor and film producer who works mainly in Tamil cinema and a few Malayalam, Telugu and Hindi films. He is the youngest son of film producer R. B. Choudary.
...
.
2009
The individuals listed below were recipients of the Kalaimamani for the year 2009.
;Actors
*
Vineeth
Vineeth Radhakrishnan (born 23 August 1969) is an Indian actor, Bharatanatyam dancer, voice artist and choreographer who primarily works in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu language films. He has also appeared in a few Hindi and Kannada films. He h ...
*
Vadivukkarasi
Vadivukkarasi is an Indian actress. She made her acting debut in the Tamil-language film ''Sigappu Rojakkal'' (1978) and has acted in more than 350 films in Tamil, Telugu language, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam and 40 television serials in Tamil ...
*
Asin Thottumkal
Asin Thottumkal (born 26 October 1985), known mononyomusly as Asin, is an Indian former actress who appeared predominantly in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Hindi and Telugu language, Telugu films. Asin is a recipient of List of awards and nominations ...
*
Nayanthara
Nayanthara (born Diana Mariam Kurian; 18 November 1984) is an Indian actress and producer known for her work in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Telugu cinema, Telugu and Malayalam cinema, Malayalam films. One of the highest-paid actresses in India, she ...
*
Meera Jasmine
Jasmine Mary Joseph, , rediff.com; 1 August 2004. known professionally as Meera Jasmine, is an Indian ac ...
*
B. Saroja Devi
Bangalore Saroja Devi (born 7 January 1938) is an Indian actress who has acted in Tamil, Kannada, Telugu and Hindi films. She acted in around 200 films over seven decades. She is known by the epithets "''Abhinaya Saraswathi''" ( Saraswathi of ...
Sundar C
Vinayagar Sundar Vel (born 21 January 1968), known professionally as Sundar C, is an Indian actor, filmmaker, and playback singer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. He has directed over 30 films and received the Kalaimamani#2009, Kalaim ...
Harris Jayaraj
J. Harris Jayaraj (born 8 January 1975) is an Indian composer from Tamil Nadu. He composes soundtracks predominantly for Tamil cinema, Tamil films, while also having composed for a few films in Cinema of Andhra Pradesh, Telugu and two films i ...
*Maharajapuram Srinivasan
* Sivamani
*Thalachangadu T. M. Ramanathan
;Writer
*A. Madhavan
;Best serial
*
Metti Oli
Metti Oli () was an Indian Tamil-language soap opera that aired on weekdays on Sun TV for 811 episodes. The show starred Delhi Kumar, Kaveri, Gayathri, Vanaja, Uma Maheshwari, Revathi Priya, Chetan, Bose Venkat, Raj Kanth , Thirumurugan, S ...
2010
The individuals listed below were recipients of the Kalaimamani for the year 2010.
;Actors
*
Anushka Shetty
Sweety Shetty (born 7 November 1981), known by her stage name Anushka Shetty, is an Indian actress known for her works in Telugu and
Tamil cinema. She is the recipient of three Filmfare Awards South, two Nandi Awards, two SIIMA Awards and o ...
*
Tamannaah Bhatia
Tamanna Bhatia (born 21 December 1989), known professionally as Tamannaah Bhatia, is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi films. Having appeared in 88 films, she has received several awards, including two Sa ...
*
Arya
''Aryan'' (), or ''Arya'' (borrowed from Sanskrit ''ārya''),Oxford English Dictionary Online 2024, s.v. ''Aryan'' (adj. & n.); ''Arya'' (n.)''.'' is a term originating from the ethno-cultural self-designation of the Indo-Iranians. It stood i ...
;Music
*
Kalyani Menon
Kalyani Menon (23 June 1941 – 2 August 2021) was an Indian playback singer who worked in the Indian film industry. After beginning her career in the 1970s as a classical singer, Kalyani established a parallel career as a singer in the film ind ...
(singer)
*T. V. Gopalakrishnan (vocal)
*K. N. Shashikiran (vocal)
*
Rajhesh vaidhya
Rajhesh Vaidhya () (or, Vaidya), is an Indian veena player born on 14 June 1973 hailing from Tamil Nadu. Besides performing on stage, he has worked with various film music composers. He also acted in the movie ''Viswa Thulasi'' and in ''Premi'' ...
The individuals listed below were recipients of the Kalaimamani for the year 2011.
;Actors
*R. Rajashekar
*Kutti Padmini
*P. Rajasekar
*T. Venkatraman
* P. Pandu
*M. S. P. Kalaimani
;Tamil literature
*Keezhambur S. Shankarasubramaniyan
*Kovi Manishekaran
*Lena Tamizhvannan
*Dr. Tiruppur Krishnan
;Tamil poetry
*C. Ramaswami
;Carnatic music
*Neyveli R. Santhanagopalan
;Violin
*Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi
;Mridangam
*Cherthala R. Ananthakrishnan
;Flute
*Prapancham S. Balakrishnan
;Nadaswaram
*T. E. Pazhaniswami
;Tavil
*Kovilur K. V. Pazhanivel
;Harmonium
*Pallatam S. Venkataraman Rao
;Sitar
*Janardhan Mitta
;Light music
*Abaswaram Ramji
;Bharatanatyam
*Radhika Surajit
*Dr. Lakshmi Ramalakshmi
;Kuchipudi
*K. Suryashree
;Choreography
*Puliyur Roja
;Singer
*B. S. Sasirekha
;Costume designing
*P. Kasi
;Art criticism
*Harikesanallur Venkatraman
;Live music performance
*Kunniyur R. Kalyanasundaram
;Villupattu
*A. Rajakili
2012
The individuals listed below were recipients of the Kalaimamani for the year 2012.
; Actors
* S. S. Senbagamuthu
*
Rajasree
Rajasree (Rajasree Thota Panchajanyam, Kusuma Kumari), also known as Rajasri or Rajashri, is an Indian actress active from 1956 to 1979. She is particularly famous for her portrayal as a princess in several folklore Telugu movies opposite N. ...
*
P. R. Varalakshmi
P. R. Varalakshmi is an Indian actress. She was active in movies during the 1970s and 1980s. She was a prominent lead actress during the 1980s in Tamil film, Tamil, Malayalam film, Malayalam, Telugu language, Telugu, and Kannada film, Kannada fi ...
* N. Mahalingam
* N. S. Parvathy
* S. S. Senbagamuthu
; Tamil literature
* Vasuki Kannappan
* Ilakkiyavithi Iniyavan
; Orator
* Tamizharuvi M. P. Ramalingam
; Journalist
* S. R. Ashok Kumar
; Author
* A. Subbulakshmi Ganapathy
; Carnatic music
* Maharajapuram C. Ramachandran
* Dr. Mahanathi Shobana Vignesh
; Veena
* Mudikondan S. N. Ramesh
; Flute
* T. Ravichandramohan
; Nadaswaram
* P. V. Thirumoorthy
; Percussion
* A. V. Ayyavu
; Morsing
* R. M. Deenadayalu
; Devotional music
* Udayalur K. Kalyanaraman
; Harmonium
* M. U. Premkumar
; Harikatha
* Vishaka Hari
; Bharatanatyam
* Anita Guha
* Bala Devi Chandrashekar
* Revathy Ramachandran
; Bhagavatha Mela
* R. Mahalingam
; Gaana songs
* S. Ulaganathan
; Director
* Chitra Lakshmanan
; Cinematographer
* N. V. Anandakrishnan
; Kavadiattam
* N. Sivajirao
; Puraviattam
* S. Yogalingam
2013
The individuals listed below were recipients of the Kalaimamani for the year 2013.
; Actors
* Prasanna
*
Nalini
Nalini (Devanagari: नलिनी) is a female gender Indian people, Indian given name, which means "lotus", "goddess Gayatri","mother of Vedas", "sweet nectar", "Amrit", Feminine "lily" in Sanskrit.''Baby Names''"Nalini" Retrieved on 9 January ...
* Kanchana
* Sharada
* C. V. Chandramohan
* R. Pandiarajan
* T. P. Gajendran
; Tamil literature
* Dr. Bala Ramani
; Author
* Dr. T. K. Subramanian
;Singer
* R. Krishnaraj
; Carnatic music
* Dr. Shuba Ganesan
* Sugantha Kalamegham
; Violin
* P. G. Venkatesh
; Mohiniattam
* Rashmi Menon
; Stunt choreographer
* Judo K. K. Rathnam
; Folk singers
* T. Velmurugan
* Paravai Muniyamma
; Puppet show
* M. Somasundaram
; Sculptor
* Sculptor K. Thirugnanam
2014
The individuals listed below were recipients of the Kalaimamani for the year 2014.
; Actors
*
Karthi
Karthik Sivakumar (born 25 May 1977), credited as Karthi, is an Indian actor who works in Tamil Cinema. He is son of veteran actor Sivakumar who began his career as an assistant director in his elder brother Suriya's
film '' Aayutha Ezhuthu ...
* Saravanan
* M. S. Subramanian
* U. M. Kannan
* Thanjai P. K. Selvam
* Ponvannan
; Tamil literature
* Aikkan
; Author
* Dr. R V Kamalakannan
; Tamil poetry
* M. Thirunavakkarasu
; Carnatic music
* Meera Nathan
* R Vijayalakshmi
* R Chitra
; Flute
* P. V. Balasai
; Nadaswaram
* K. S. Senthilkumaran
* Shanthi Senthilkumaran
; Bharatanatyam
* Pandanallur S. Pandian
; Drama actor and director
* Suresh Krishna
; Singer
* Malathi
; Choreographer
* N. A. Tara
; Cultural promotion
* A. V. Jayaram
; Journalist
* News Ananthan
; Folk singer
* K. A. Satyabalan
2015
The individuals listed below were recipients of the Kalaimamani for the year 2015.
; Actors
*
Prabhu Deva
Prabhu Deva (born 3 April 1973) is an Indian dance choreographer, film director, producer and actor who has worked predominantly in Tamil language, Tamil, Hindi and Telugu language, Telugu language films also appeared in few Kannada and Malayal ...
* Madhu Balaji
; Tamil literature
* A. K. P. Kathirvelu
; Carnatic music
* Shyamala Venkateswaran
* A. Vadivelan
; Violin
* Dr. R. Hemalatha
; Mridangam
* Tiruvallur Vaidyanathan
; Veena
* Geetha Krishnamurthy
; Nadaswaram
* T. P. J. Selvarathnam
; Saxophone
* M. Mayilswami
; Bharatanatyam
* Sarayusai
* J. Suryanarayanamurthy
; Director
* A. N. Pavitran
; Music composer
*
Vijay Antony
Frances Antony Cyril Raja (born 24 July 1975), known professionally as Vijay Antony, is an Indian music composer, playback singer, actor, film editor, lyricist, audio engineer, and filmmaker working predominantly in Tamil cinema.
He made his d ...
; Cinematographer
* R. Rathinavelu
; Singer
* Gaana Bala
; Villupattu
* Bharathi Thirumagan
; Percussion
* S. Andrews
; Other
* Sudha
2016
The individuals listed below were recipients of the Kalaimamani for the year 2016.
; Actors
* M. Sasikumar
* M. S. Bhaskar
*
Thambi Ramaiah
Thambi Ramaiah is an Indian actor, director and comedian who works in the Tamil film industry. He has also worked occasionally as a lyricist. He directed three films, '' Manu Needhi'' (2000), '' Indiralohathil Na Azhagappan'' (2008) and '' Mani ...
* Soori
* M. Shanmugam
* Srilekha Rajendran
; Tamil literature
* K. N. Kodandam
* Pavalar K. Guhanandam
; Carnatic music
* Dr. Nirmala Sundararajan
; Harmonium
* S. Chandru
; Flute
* P. Vijayagopal
; Nadaswaram
* M. K. S. Natarajan
; Percussion
* S. Jayachandran
; Violin
* Padma Shankar
; Bharatanatyam
* Jayanthi Ramachandra
* Rajeswari Sainath
; Drama producer
* Sri Hari
; Religious discourses
* T. Rajagopalan
; Folk singer
* Tarapuram C. Kalarani
; Journalist
* Nellai Sundararajan
2017
The individuals listed below were recipients of the Kalaimamani for the year 2017.
; Actor
*
Priyamani
Priya Mani Raj (née Iyer; born 4 June 1984 ), known professionally as Priyamani, is an Indian actress who works in Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, and Hindi films. She is the recipient of a National Film Award, three Filmfare Awards Sout ...
* G. Sivan Srinivasan
* K. Nallasivam
* K. R. Singamuthu
* R. S. Jayalatha
; Carnatic music
* S. Sowmya
* Dr. Prema Rangarajan
* R. Suryaprakash
* Dr. T. Lokanatha Sharma
* Sriram Parasuram
; Ghatam
* H. Sivaramakrishnan
; Flute
* A. N. Bhagyalakshmi
; Tavil
* T. K. Ranganatha Pattacharyar
; Bharanatyam
* Roja Kannan
* Priya Murali
; Director
* Hari
; Music composer
*
Yuvan Shankar Raja
Yuvan Shankar Raja (born 31 August 1979), is an Indian composer and playback singer. He mainly scores music for Tamil films along with few Telugu, Kannada, and Hindi films. Considered a versatile composer, he is particularly known for his use o ...
; Producer
* Kalaignanam
; Photographer
* Seshadri Nathan Sukumaran
* Stills Ravi
; Silambattam
* V. Rajaneethi
; Karakattam
* T. Thavamani
; Thappattam
* P. Raja
; Nadaswaram
* C. Samudram
; Villupattu
* Sujatha Sivaprasad
; Journalist
* Prakash M. Swami
2018
The individuals listed below were recipients of the Kalaimamani for the year 2011.
; Actors
* Srikanth
* S. Varadarajan
; Medical journal writer
* Dr. S. Amudhakumar
; Tamil poetry
* Isaikkavi Ramanan
; Tamil literature
* Dr. K. Ganesan
* Nirmala Periyaswami
* Manavai Ponmanickam
; Author
* Professor A. M. James
; Carnatic music
* S. J. Jananiy
* Lakshmi Mohan
* Vidya Subramanian
* Shanmukapriya and Haripriya (Priya sisters)
* Rajakumar Bharathi
; Violin
* S. Manibharathi
; Veena
* Veena M. Raghavan
; Nadaswaram
* Thiruppanandhal S. Balasubramaniam
* S. A. Karupayya
; Keyboard
* K. Satyanarayanan
; Light music
* Thanjai V. Rajan
; Bharatanatyam
* Padmalakshmi Suresh
* Nandini Ramani
* Lavanya Shankar
* Niveditha Parthasarathy
* Binesh Mahadevan
* Dr. Latha Rajendran
* P. Muralidharan
; Producer
*
A. M. Rathnam
A. M. Rathnam is an Indian film producer, lyricist, screenwriter, and director known for his works in Telugu and Tamil cinema. Under Sri Surya Movies Entertainment, a movie production house he owns in Hyderabad, he has produced blockbusters i ...
; Cinematographer
*
Ravi Varman
S. Ravi Varman ISC is an Indian cinematographer, filmmaker, producer and writer. He predominantly works in Tamil, Malayalam, and Hindi film industries. Varman began his career in Malayalam cinema. He directed a romantic film in Tamil titled ' ...
; Singer
* Unnimenon
; Leather puppeteer
* A. Muthulakshmanrao
* P. Muthuchandran
; Percussion
* K. Kumaravel
2019
The individuals listed below were recipients of the Kalaimamani for the year 2019.
;Actors
*
Yogi Babu
Yogi Babu (born 22 July 1985) is an Indian actor and comedian, who appears in Tamil films. He has won Ananda Vikatan Cinema Award for '' Aandavan Kattalai'' (2016), '' Kolamavu Kokila'' (2018), '' Pariyerum Perumal'' (2018), '' Love Today'' ( ...
*
Devadarshini
Devadarshini is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Tamil films, in addition to few Telugu, Malayalam films and television series. She began her career as a television anchor and entered cinema playing supporting and comedic roles. ...
*Nandhakumar
*
Shanthi Williams
Shanthi Williams is an Indian film and television actress who has played supporting roles in various Tamil and Malayalam movies and serials.
Career
Williams came into the industry as a child artist at the age of 12. Williams started her acting ...
;Director
*Liaquat Ali Khan
;Producer
*Kalaipuli S. Thanu
;Music director
*Dhina
;Dialogue writer
;Camera man
*Ragunaatha Reddy
;Editor
*
Anthony
Anthony, also spelled Antony, is a masculine given name derived from the '' Antonii'', a '' gens'' ( Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were Heracleidae, being descenda ...
Thalapathy Dinesh
Thalapathy Dinesh (also spelled Thalapathi Dinesh) is an Indian action choreographer who works mainly in Tamil cinema. He started his career in the cinema as an extra fighter in ''Naan Sigappu Manithan (1985 film), Naan Sigappu Manithan,'' and l ...
;Lyricist
*Kamakodiyan
;Singers
*
Sujatha Mohan
Sujatha Mohan is a renowned Indian playback singer known for her contributions to a wide range of Indian film industries, particularly in Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu cinema. Over her decades-long career, she has also recorded songs in other ...
*Ananthu
;Pianist
* Anil Srinivasan
;Dr. J. Jayalalithaa Special Kalaimamani Award
* P. Susheela
;Carnatic Music
*K. Krishnakumar
*Binni Krishnakumar
;Bharatanatayam
* Madurai R. Muralidaran
;Costumer
*Rajendran
;Makeup man
*Shanmugam
;Other
*Singaaravelu
2020
The individuals listed below were recipients of the Kalaimamani for the year 2020.
;Actors
*
Sivakarthikeyan
Sivakarthikeyan Doss (born 17 February 1985), also known by the initialism SK, is an Indian actor, playback singer, lyricist, film producer and television presenter, who works predominantly in Tamil cinema. In 2021, he won the Kalaimamani Awar ...
*
Aishwarya Rajesh
Aishwarya Rajesh (born 10 January 1990) is an Indian actress who works predominantly in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films. Aishwarya is a recipient of several awards including two Filmfare Award South, one Tamil Nadu State Film Award and fo ...
*
Jangiri Madhumitha
Madhumitha is an Indian actress who appears in Tamil language films and reality show in vijay TV. She often portrays comedy roles and made her film debut through Rajesh's '' Oru Kal Oru Kannadi'' (2012). She also participated in TV shows like ...
;Director
*
Gautham Vasudev Menon
Gautham Vasudev Menon (born 25 February 1973) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, film producer and actor who predominantly works in Tamil cinema, Tamil film industry. He has also directed Telugu cinema, Telugu, Hindi cinema, Hindi and Ma ...
;
Shehnai
The ''shehnai'' is a type of oboe from the Indian subcontinent. It is made of wood, with a double reed at one end and a metal or wooden flared bell at the other end. It was one of the nine instruments found in the royal court. The shehnai is sim ...
Players & Hindustani Musicians & Playback Singers
*Pandit Dr
S Ballesh Bhajantri
Pandit S. Ballesh Bhajantri (born Ballappa Sanna Bharamappa Bhajantri) is a popular Hindustani classical music, Indian classical Hindustani shehnai player. He is a disciple of shehnai player Ustad Bismillah Khan, he is benares gharana shehnai ...
D. Imman
Immanuel Vasanth Dinakaran (born 24 January 1983), better known as D. Imman, is an Indian film music composer and singer, predominantly working in Tamil cinema. His first film as music director was ''Thamizhan'' in 2002. Since then he has comp ...
;Lyricist
*Kahalmadhi
;Carnatic Music
*Ranjani Gayatri
;Makeup man
*Sabarigirisan
;Journalist
*Sabitha Joseph
;Religious discourse
* Tiruchi K. Kalyanaraman
;Writer
* Thamarai S. Senthurpandi
* M. S. Perumaal
;Author
* Panapakkam K. Sukumar
;Debater
* Arasu P. Parameswaran
;Vocalist
* Rathnakumari K. Kalyanasundaram
* Ranjani–Gayatri
* S. V. Usha
;Ghatam
* S. Karthik
;Harmonium
* V. John Mohan
;Mridangam
* Thanjavur Murugaboopathi
* Sairam Sundaram
* T. R. Sundaresan Mridangam
;Nadaswaram
* Vaduvur S. N. R. Krishnamoorthy
;Thavil
* Thiruppanandal S. Marimuthu
;Keyboard
* M. S. Martin
;Tevaram narrator
* P. Shanmugasundara Desikar
;Saxophone
* A. G. Govindarasu
;Vainika
* Nirmala Rajasekar
* Jayalakshmi Sekhar
;Performers
* Mangalam Natarajan
* J. Pazhani
* Poovai Mani
;Bharatanatyam
* A. Janarthanan
* Kavitha Charles
* Sreelatha Vinod
* S. Vijayalakshmi Bhoopathi
* Aparna Ramesh
;Terukkuttu
* T. Kanniyappan
;Kaniyan koothu
* V. Muthu Perumal