Rajnikant, Kamal Haasan get best actor honours

Rajnikant and Kamal Haasan, two titans of Tamil cinema, have been named best actors for the years 2005 and 2006 respectively for the annual state film awards announced here. Kamal Haasan has been honoured for his portrayal of a police officer in "Vettaiyadu Vilaiyadu" and Rajnikant for playing a psychiatrist "Chandramukhi".

"Chandramukhi" and "Ghajini" shared the honours and were adjudged the best films of 2005. "Anniyan" and "Thavamai Thavamirundhu" were the second and third best films of the year.

The best film for 2006 was "Veyyil". "Paruthiveeran" and "Thiruttu Payalae" were declared the second and third best films. "Ilakanam" gets a special award in the honours announced Thursday.

Jyothika has been named best actress for 2005 for portraying a split personality in "Chandramukhi". And Priyamani won the honour for 2006 for her effective performance as a bubbly, rural girl in "Paruthiveeran".

For 2005, director Rama Narayanan gets the prestigious Anna Award instituted in memory of former chief minister C.N. Annadurai's and actor Vivek bags the Kalaivanar Award for best comedian.

For the same year, Thamarai gets the Bharathidasan award as best lyricist. "Kasthoorimaan" will be given an award for portraying women in a positive light.

The best music director for 2005 is Harris Jayaraj for his compositions in "Anniyan" and "Ghajini". Yuvan Shankar Raja has bagged the best music director slot for 2006.

According to sources, the awards for two years were announced simultaneously since the film fraternity in Tamil Nadu is politicised and awards are announced according to the convenience of the government in power.

Indo-Asian News Service