Tamil Nadu State Film Awards were given for excellence in

Tamil cinema Tamil cinema is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Tamil language, the main spoken language in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is nicknamed Kollywood, a portmanteau of the names Kodambakkam, a Ch ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. They were given annually to honour the best talents and provide encouragement and incentive to the

South Indian South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

film industry The film industry or motion picture industry comprises the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking, i.e., film production company, production companies, film studios, cinematography, animation, film production, screenwriting, pre- ...

by the

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 ...

. The awards were decided by a committee headed by a Judge. The awards were first given in 1967 and discontinued after 1970. The awards were given again in 1977 and continued till 1982. The awards were not given in the years 1971 to 1976. However, in the year 1977, the awards for Best Actress and Best Actor were announced for the years 1971 to 1976 by way of honorary certificates by the government led by the then chief minister M.G.Ramachandran. Since 1988, the awards were regularly given until it became defunct in 2008. After winning the election for the Producers Council of Tamil cinema, the chairman

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 ...

revealed that he would approach the government to reinstate the awards. The awards were reinstated in July 2017 after the government announced the wins for 2009–2014. After a gap of seven years, the awards for the year 2015 were announced in March 2024.

Record Winners

Awards

Awards are given in the following categories. Follow the links for lists of the award winners, year by year.

Creative Awards

Best Film The following is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various films, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Bes ...

: since 1967 *

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * As ...

: since 1967 * Best Family Film:2000 and 2001; since 2006 * Best Film Portraying Woman in Good Light: since 1994 * Best Actor: since 1967 * Best Actress: since 1967 * Best Supporting Actor: 1968 to 1970; since 2000 * Best Supporting Actress: 1968 to 1970; since 2000 * Best Villain: since 1995 * Best Comedian: 1980 to 1982; since 1995 * Best Child Artist: 1969 and 1970; 1977 and 1978; 1990; since 1994 * Best Music Director: 1968 to 1970; 1977 to 1982; since 1988 * Best Male Playback Singer: 1968 to 1970; 1977 to 1982; since 1988 * Best Female Playback Singer: 1968 to 1970; 1977 to 1982; since 1988

Technical Awards

* Best Stunt Coordinator: 1970; 1982; since 1988 * Best Art Director: since 1988 * Best Cinematographer: 1968 to 1970; 1977 to 1982; since 1988 * Best Choreographer: since 1988 * Best Audiographer: since 1988 * Best Lyricist: 1968 to 1970; 1977 to 1982; since 1988 * Best Male Dubbing Artist: since 2000 * Best Female Dubbing Artist: since 2000 * Best Editor: 1980 to 1982; since 1988 * Best Storywriter: 1968 to 1970; 1977 to 1982; since 1988 * Best Dialogue Writer: 1968 to 1970; 1977 to 1982; since 1988 * Best Make-up Artist: since 1993 * Best Costume Designer: since 1993

Special Awards

* Special Prizes: since 1970 * Honorary Award: since 1988

Retired Awards

* Best Male Debut – Karthik for ''

Alaigal Oivathillai ''Alaigal Oivathillai'' () is a 1981 Indian Tamil-language teen romantic drama film written and directed by Bharathiraja, from a story by Manivannan. The film stars Karthik and Radha, in their acting debuts. Thiagarajan, Silk Smitha and Kama ...

'': 1981 * Best Female Debut –

Radha Radha (, ), also called Radhika, is a Hindu goddess and the chief consort of the god Krishna. She is the goddess of love, tenderness, compassion, and devotion. In scriptures, Radha is mentioned as the avatar of Lakshmi and also as the Prak� ...

for ''Alaigal Oivathillai'': 1981

List of frequent winners

Most awarded films

References

{{Tamil Nadu State Film Awards Tamil cinema Awards established in 1967 Tamil film awards Indian film awards 1967 establishments in Madras State Tamil Nadu awards