Hyderabad: The 12th edition of the South Indian International Movie Awards (SIIMA) is back to commemorate the best of South Indian cinema. SIIMA celebrations represent the true essence of South Indian cinema, connecting global South Indian film fans with South Indian film stars. With the nominations revealed recently, Dasara (Telugu), Jailer (Tamil), Katera (Kannada), and 2018 (Malayalam) top the chart with the most nods. These four films went on to become commercial successes in their respective industries.
Dasara, starring Nani and Keerthy Suresh, is the leading Telugu film with 11 nominations. Also, Nani and Mrinal Thakur's film Hi Nanna has ten nominations, following closely. Nani had captured everyone's hearts with his flawless performances in the two films, both of which were released in 2023.
Apart from Nani, who has been nominated for Best Actor for Dasara and Hi Nanna, the leading ladies of both films, Keerthy Suresh and Mrunal Thakur, directors Srikanth Odela and Shouryuv, and music composers Santhosh Narayanan and Hesham Abdul Wahab, have been nominated for major categories, along with other talented artistes and technicians. Dasara was directed by newcomer Srikanth Odela, while Hi Nanna was directed by debutant Sauryuv.
In Tamil, superstar Rajinikanth's film Jailer, directed by Nelson Dilipkumar, leads with 11 nominations. Apart from from this, Udayanidhi Stalin and Keerthy Suresh's Mamannan follows close behind with nine nominations.
Kaatera, starring Darshan, leads the Kannada film nominations with eight nods. Similarly, Saptha Sagaradache Ello - Side A, starring Rakshit Shetty and Rukmini Vasant, follows suit with seven nominations.
Tovino Thomas and Asif Ali's 2018 Malayalam film received eight nominations. The Jude Anthony Joseph directorial is a survival saga, which went on to become a massive hit. It is closely followed by Kathal - The Core, starring Malayalam megastar Mammootty and Jyothika, which has seven nominations.
Check out the language-wise all category nominations below.
Best Film Nominations - Tamil
- Jailer
- Leo
- Maamannan
- Ponniyin Selvan 2
- Viduthalai 1
Best Film Nominations - Telugu
- Balagam
- Baby
- Bhagavanth Kesari
- Dasara
- Hi Nanna
- Virupaksha
Best Film Nominations - Kannada
- Aachar & Co
- Kaatera
- Kousalya Supraja Rama
- Kranti
- Sapta Saagaradaache Ello – Side A
Best Film Nominations - Malayalam
- Iratta
- Kaathal: The Core
- Nanpakal Nerathu Maykkam
- Neru
- 2018
Best Actor In a Leading Role - Tamil
- Rajinikanth (Jailer)
- Sivakarthikeyan (Maaveeran)
- Siddharth (Chiththa)
- Udhayanidhi Stalin (Maamannan)
- Vikram (Ponniyin Selvan 2)
- Vijay (Leo)
Best Actor In a Leading Role - Telugu
- Balakrishna for (BhagavanthKesari)
- Chiranjeevi (Waltair Veerayya)
- Dhanush (Sir)
- Nani (Dasara)
- Sai Durgha Tej (Virupaksha)
Best Actor In a Leading Role - Kannada
- Darshan Thoogudeepa (Kaatera)
- Daali Dhananjaya (Gurudev Hoysala)
- Raj B Shetty (Toby)
- Ramesh Aravind (Shivaji Surathkal 2)
- Rakshit Shetty (Sapta Saagaradaache Ello - Side A)
- Shivarajkumar (Ghost)
Best Actor In a Leading Role - Malayalam
- Basil Joseph (Falimy & Kadina Kadoramee Andakadaham)
- Joju George (Iratta)
- Mohanlal (Neru)
- Mammootty (Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam, Kaathal The Core, & Kannur Squad)
- Suresh Gopi (Garudan)
- Tovino Thomas (2018)
Best Director - Tamil
- Lokesh Kanagaraj (Leo)
- Mani Ratnam (Ponniyin Selvan 2)
- Mari Selvaraj (Maamannan)
- Nelson Dilipkumar (Jailer)
- S. U. Arun Kumar (Chiththa)
- Vetrimaaran (Viduthalai Part 1)
Best Director - Telugu
- Anil Ravipudi (Bhagavanth Kesari)
- K. S. Ravindra (Waltair Veerayya)
- Gopichand Malineni (Veera Simha Reddy)
- Karthik Varma Dandu (Virupaksha)
- Sai Rajesh Neelam (Baby)
- Srikanth Odela (Dasara)
Best Director - Kannada
- Akash Srivatsa (Shivaji Surathkal 2)
- Hemanth Rao (Sapta Saagaradaache Ello - Side A)
- Shashank (Kousalya Supraja Rama)
- Tharun Kishore Sudhir (Kaatera)
- V Hari Krishna (Kranti)
Best Director - Malayalam
- Jeethu Joseph (Neru)
- Jeo Baby (Kaathal The Core)
- Jude Anthany Joseph (2018)
- Lijo Jose Pellissery (Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam)
- Priyadarshan (Corona Papers)
Best Actress in a Leading Role - Tamil
- Trisha (Leo)
- Nayanthara (Annapoorani)
- Aishwarya Rai (Ponniyin Selvan 2)
- Keerthy Suresh (Maamannan)
- Meetha Raghunath (Good Night)
- Aishwarya Rajesh (Farhana)
Best Actress in a Leading Role - Telugu
- Keerthy Suresh (Dasara)
- Mrunal Thakur (Hi Nanna)
- Samyuktha Menon (Virupaksha)
- Shruti Haasan (Veera Simha Reddy)
- Sreeleela (Bhagvanth Kesari)
- Payal Rajput (Mangalavaram)
Best Actress in a Leading Role - Kannada
- Chaithra J Achar (Toby)
- Rachita Ram (Kranti)
- Rukmini Vasanth (Sapta Saagaradaache Ello – Side A)
- Sindhu Sreenivasa Murthy (Aachar & Co)
- Meghana Raj (Tatsama Tadbhava)
- Megha Shetty (Kaiva)
Best Actress in a Leading Role - Malayalam
- Jyotika (Kaathal - the Core)
- Manju Warrier (Ayisha)
- Kalyani Priyadarshan (Sesham Mike - Il Fathima)
- Anaswara Rajan (Neru)
- Darshana Rajendran (Purusha Pretham)
- Vincy Aloshious (Rekha)
Best actor in supporting role - Tamil
- Vadivelu (Maamannan)
- MS Baskar (Parking)
- SJ Suryah (Jigarthanda Double X)
- Sarathkumar (Varisu)
- Vasanth Ravi (Jailer)
Best actor in a supporting role - Telugu
- Brahmanandam (Ranga Maarthaanda)
- Prithviraj Sukumaran (Salaar)
- Dekshith Shetty (Dasara)
- Viraj Ashwin (Baby)
- Angad Bedi (Hi Nanna)
- Ravi Krishna (Virupaksha)
Best actor in supporting role - Kannada
- Aravinnd Iyer (Tatsama Tadbhava)
- Gopalkrishna Desphande (Sapta Saagaradaache Ello – Side B)
- Rangayana Raghu (Tagaru Palya)
- Harshil Koushik (Aachar & Co)
- Naveen Shankar (Hondisi Bareyiri)