Nitya, Nag bag awards on star-studded night

Samantha, Pavan Kalyan adjudged best actors

Anjali at the Maa Cine awards nite in Hyderabad on Saturday. - Photo G. Ramakrishna

The Fair & Lovely Cinema Awards 2013, given away by Maa television here on Saturday evening, proved to be a star-studded affair, with the who’s who of the Telugu film industry in attendance.

It was Nitya Menon for the ‘Best Jury Female’ award ( Ishq ), Akkineni Nagarjuna for the ‘Best Jury Male’ award ( Shirdi Sai ), Tanikella Bharani ( Midhunam ) for ‘Best Jury Director’ and Shirdi Sai for ‘Best Jury Movie’.

Samantha was adjudged ‘Best Actress’ for

Eega while Pawan Kalyan bagged the ‘Best Actor’ for

Gabbar Singh , a film that also got the ‘Best Movie’ award, while getting Harish Shankar the ‘Best Director’ award.

Nagarjuna’s wife and actor Amala was not to be left behind and got the Female (Outstanding) award for Shekhar Kammula’s

Life is Beautiful while the Male (Outstanding) award went to Rajendra Prasad for Onamalu .

For the first time since the awards were instituted, Maa included a Tamil category, giving away two awards – Kajal as Best Actress for Tuppaki and Suriya as Best Actor for Maatraan . The applause didn’t seem to fade as long as Suriya, Nagarjuna and producer Allu Aravind were on stage. Nagarjuna dedicated the awards to stalwarts from the Telugu film industry who contributed significantly to 100 years of Indian cinema, while Kajal attributed her success to her father.

S.S. Rajamouli’s

Eega gained recognition again — apart from getting the heroine an award and getting Sudeep the ‘Best Actor in a Negative Role’, the special effects team from Makuta walked away with the honours under the ‘Best Visual Effects’ category.

Another film that drew attention more than once was Ishq , with ace cinematographer P.C. Sriram and the lead pair of Nitya Menon and Nitin, bagging awards.

Among the highlights of the evening was the marked brevity of the speeches by the speakers and the entertainment provided by actors Charmme and Catherine Teresa ( Iddarammayilatho fame).

Anjali who shot to fame with Seetamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu , essaying the role of an affectionate, demure and innocent girl, showcased her glam quotient as she shook a leg much to the delight of the audience.