61st Idea Filmfare Awards 2013 Nominations Press Meet, Hyderabad

The Filmfare Awards are back in the cyber capital of the country to announce the latest nominees of the 61st Idea Filmfare Awards 2013 (South). The stunning Samantha Prabhu was present at the conference to announce the nominees along with Mr Tarun Rai, Chief Executive Officer, Worldwide Media and Mr Rajat Mukarji, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Idea Cellular. This year's nominations have been chosen from a long list of popular and critically lauded movies. The competition promises to be stiff but that only means a thrilling awards night that will live up to every expectation.

The 61st Idea Filmfare Awards 2013 (South) will be held at the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu, (Nehru Indoor Stadium), Chennai on July 12, 2014. It will be an evening where the luminaries of Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam cinema come together to celebrate and honour the best in their fields.

The Filmfare Awards have always strived for a perfect balance of public opinion and critical appreciation. This year too our readers and movie buffs around the world voted for their favourites across 10 categories in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam films. Our exclusive list of nominees was chosen after careful tabulation of the data from the vote count. Subsequently, a specially-appointed jury will now help pick the winners from among the nominees, in each regional category.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Tarun Rai said, "Sixty years ago, when the first Black Lady was given out, the South Indian film industry was very small. With 607 films produced last year, the industry has grown tremendously. And the Idea Filmfare Awards have grown immensely in stature. And out of the 607 films, 205 are in contention to win the converted Black Lady this year. We are very proud of our six-decade long association with South Indian cinema."

Talking about the popular Idea Filmfare Awards, Mr. Rajat Mukarji, commented, "Idea will offer the best mobile entertainment experience to the fans of South Indian cinema in our 6th year of association with the Idea Filmfare Awards. With 25% of our subscribers coming from the southern markets of AP, Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, the Idea Filmfare Awards South gives us an unique opportunity to connect with our millions of consumers with innovative marketing and engagement programs."

The first ever Filmfare Awards (South) were held at the prestigious Kalaivanar Arangam in Chennai and the venue was then shifted to the distinctive Music Academy. Initially, only Tamil and Telugu films were considered for the awards but Malayalam and Kannada films became part of the event in 1966 and 1969 respectively. The film fraternity and all its fans consider Filmfare Awards (South) as the ultimate form of recognition in cinema excellence.

About Worldwide Media:
Worldwide Media is a part of the Times Group, one of India's largest media and entertainment conglomerates, and publishes Filmfare - India's No 1 entertainment magazine. Femina - India's largest women's magazine, BBC TopGear, HELLO!, BBC Good Homes, GRAZIA, Lonely Planet Magazine India, Home Trends, BBC Knowledge and BBC GoodFood are other exciting titles from Worldwide Media.

About Idea Cellular:
IDEA Cellular is India's 3rd largest national mobile operator, with more than 137 million subscribers. With traffic in excess of 1.75 billion minutes a day, Idea ranks among the Top 10 country operators in the world. Using the latest in technology, Idea provides world-class service delivery through the most extensive network of customer touch points. Idea is listed on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in India.

IDEA Cellular is an Aditya Birla Group Company, India's first truly multinational corporation. The Group ranks Number 4 globally and Number 1 in the Asia Pacific in the 2011 Top Companies for Leaders (TCFL) study conducted by Aon Hewitt, Fortune (the Global Business Magazine) and the RBL Group. It operates in 36 countries, and is anchored by more than 136,000 employees belonging to 42 nationalities. More information on Idea Cellular is available at www.ideacellular.com and on the Aditya Birla Group at www.aditvabirla.com