Doha to host 8th SIIMA Awards next week

*Qatar emerging as a top destination for movie events

Emerging as a top destination for movie events, Doha will host the 8th edition of the annual Pantaloons South Indian International Movie Awards (SIIMA) on August 15-16.

The previous editions of SIIMA were held in countries such as Singapore, Malaysia and the 2019 edition will be attended by South Indian superstars including Mohanlal and Chiranjeevi.

The event will be held at the Lusail Indoor Arena hosting close to 8,000 people celebrating South Indian cinema in four languages: Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam.

The details of the event were announced on Tuesday at a press conference attended by Mashal Shahbik from Qatar National Tourism Council (QNTC), Vishnu Induri, SIIMA owner; Dr R Seetharaman, CEO, Doha Bank; Naveed Abdulla, CEO, OneFM Qatar; Jassim Mohamed, CCO, OneFM Qatar; Medhat Greiss, general manager, Teyseer Motors; and Indian actresses Andrea Jeremiah and Manvika Harish.

“About 600 artistes will be present for the two-day event. Among them 200 are leading celebrities including legendary actors Chiranjeevi and Mohanlal,” disclosed Induri.

“Awards for Telugu and Kannada artistes will be given away on August 15 in the presence of Chiranjeevi while Mohanlal will attend the event on August 16 for the Tamil and Malayalam awards distribution. About 60 artistes will be honoured during the event in various categories,” he continued.

Answering a question from Gulf Times, Induri was all praise for Doha and the co-operation and support received from QNTC for organising the event.

“Doha is an excellent city with fantastic facilities to host such an event. Though we were not sure about the venue and the place initially, QNTC made our work so easy. The kind of support we received from QNTC officials helped us in getting all the necessary permissions very quickly and completing the preparations within a few weeks. It has been a fantastic experience and we look forward to future collaborations with QNTC,” noted Induri.

Shahbik said: “We are pleased to see exciting cultural events such as SIIMA, offering family friendly entertainment, a core tenet of Summer in Qatar. Our partners at Radio OneFM have been instrumental in bringing first North, and now South Indian cinema to audiences during the Qatar-India Year of Culture.”

“Year of Culture is an initiative that seeks to expand mutual understanding between Qatar and other countries through art and cultural exchanges. Indian culture is full of colour and vibrancy, and Qatar has strong historical connections with it. From hosting large shows such as SIIMA, to lavish destination weddings, we build even stronger bridges between our cultures and deliver exceptional experiences. At QNTC we empower our partners to develop initiatives to further tourism and events in Qatar,” explained Shahbik.

The event partners are: Qatar National Tourism Council, Ministry of Culture and Sports, Qatar Airways, Teyseer Motors, W Doha, Doha Bank, Al Mana Leasing, Gulf Car, Royal Regis, Talabat, Rayyan Water, and 98.6 Radio Malayalam.