On February 21, get ready to be dazzled as the greats across South industries will come together to honour films such asKalki 2898 AD, Pushpa 2: The Rule,Meiyazhagan, Amaran, Aadujeevitham,Manjummel Boysand All We Imagine as Lightand many more at the70th Filmfare Awards South with Kerala Tourism. Hosted by Vishnu Warrier, Ranjini Haridas, and RJ Mithun, the star-studded ceremony which will welcome personalities such as Allu Arjun, Sai Pallavi and Anurag Kashyap, among others, is set to light up the stage in Kochi at the Adlux International Convention Centre. Before that, a special Filmmakers’ Meet hosted filmmakers and actors ahead of the big night, where they revealed their excitement for the awards ceremony. Here is what they shared withTimes Now’sNeha Hebbale.

The veteran actress and filmmaker Suhasini Maniratnam shared that she was excited to meet her old friends at events such as these. She stated, “I see new talent that can't be found through the agencies, etc. I love coming to the awards ceremony as you to see new talent from across all the industries, and you want to have them in your film.”

ThePutham Pudhu Kaalaifilmmaker also had advice for burgeoning directors and actors. She revealed that it is easy to make the first film as nobody tells you what to do. She said, “It has to be your heart, your story and what you want to tell the world. For actors, you can't come to the industry expecting money, fame and success. You have to do what you have to do.”

Meiyazhagan, starring Karthi and Arvind Swamy, is nominated for Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor In A Leading Role, Best Actor In A Supporting Role, Best Lyrics, and Best Playback Singer. Filmmaker Prem Kumar shared that he could not believe he was nominated for the same Filmfare for which they give the black lady and would only start believe once the ceremony began.

Speaking about the film’s real-life inspiration, he said, “The first flashback for the first 15-20 mins happened to me in real life. I derived the idea and fictionalised it. But unless the real actors see through the movie and understand it, it just remains literature. I recently published the book also. It's the lead actors and their vision to make the book the film. I would give the credits to Karthik and Arvind Swamy.”

The filmmaker also gave credit to the Malayalam film industry and stated, “The people from Kerala have been appreciating good cinema, and I've been seeing that from my childhood. It's never changed. In spite of that, my movie has taken its place, and I'm very happy.”

Rahul Ravindran, who made his Hindi debut withJigra, shared that these industry meetups were a great way to catch up with everyone. He also praised the Kerala government for helping out the Malayalam industry so closely. Rahul said, “The government cares. The government wants to promote cinema and Kerala tourism. It's great to know that the government wants to help the industry and enable it to grow. Even in the Telugu industry, we shoot a lot in Kerala.”

Chidambaram, who is up for two Filmfare Awards South for Best Film and Best Director forManjummel Boys, was celebrating his first Filmfare Awards and shared his excitement for the recognition. He stated, “Rather than being confident, I'm very happy. 2024 was a great year for the Malayalam industry. People have accepted the film, and I'm very happy. Of course, awards are just a bonus. Let's see. I'm very happy, and I'm very grateful for the people that connected the film through the emotions and no language barriers.”

Writer-director Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari

Bareilly Ki Barfifilmmaker Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari recalled her first win for her debut filmNil Battey Sannataand called it the greatest feeling. She shared, “To watch my mother dancing in her saree and my husband Nitesh tearing up was the validation. It was a double whammy because my husband, Nitesh also won for Dangal that year. So Filmfare has always been special.”

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