Actress Tulasi announces Sankarabharanam Awards

Actress Tulasi on Wednesday announced the Sankarabharanam Awards as a token of respect and deepest gratitude to her guru, filmmaker and Dada Saheb Phalke awardee K.Viswanath.

The awards will be launched on June 20, to coincide with Tulasi’s 50th birthday. "A director is the one who gives life to an actor. When you perform well, the guru is proud of his pupil. He expects nothing in return. So, this annual award for the very film industry that he is associated with is my small way of paying my respects to my guru, who is also my friend, philosopher and guide," says Tulasi.

She said it was a gesture of deepest gratitude for his influence and impact on her life and career. Despite the long list of films in her illustrious career, Tulasi holds dear her association with the veteran auteur particularly the role of a boy in K Viswanath's Seetha Mahalakshmi and Sankarabharanam. "I see it as a family get together, with the film family of his well wishers, friends and colleagues coming together for one evening, to celebrate his presence in our lives. I want all the actors who worked with him, to meet him, enjoy spending an evening in his presence, watching cultural activities together," she says.

"At the same time, we should also give the industry folks an opportunity to receive the awards they deserve, from his very hands. The people he has worked with all love him as a father figure and as a guru," she adds. She plans to make the awards an annual affair which will include not only all the southern film industries but also the Hindi film industry, since Viswanath has worked in all these languages.

The awards show will be conducted by an all-women team. "There are 4900 women in my women’s organisation. They hail from different walks of life and from various professional fields. Some are dancers and from other cultural fields, some from cinema and media while others are homemakers. All of us will come together to conduct this award ceremony," she adds.

Whereas normally, film award shows have dance performances and skits by film celebrities, the Sankarabharanam Awards will be different. "We will have a cultural performance by the underprivileged and physically challenged. A group of visually challenged and cancer survivors amongst others, will be performing. We would like to use this opportunity to honour them and provide a platform to showcase their talent in the presence of Viswanath, whose association with the arts has been deep and longstanding," said Tulasi.

The first edition of the Awards is likely to be attended by Dhanush, Dulquer Salmaan and Junior NTR.