Rajnikant, Kamal Haasan honoured

The who's who of Tamil cinema were Wednesday presented with the State government awards for the years 2005-2006, with superstars Rajnikant and Kamal Haasan bagging Best Actor awards for their contribution to Tollywood.

The awards were conferred by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi.

Legendary icon Rajnikant was given the Best Actor award for 2005 for his role of a psychiatrist dealing with a lady suffering from split personality while Kamal Haasan bagged the award for year 2006, for his movie Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu where he tracks down two psycho serial killers.

The two were presented with gold medallions and certificates. Actors Surya and Vijay were also honoured for their performance in films Gajini and Thiruppachi, respectively.

Jyothika, for her scintillating performance as a person suffering from split personality in Chandramukhi bagged the Best Actress award for 2005 while the 2006 award went to Priya Mani for her portrayal of a village girl in the smash hit Paruthiveeran.

Jyothika's husband Surya received the award on her behalf.

Other awardees include Vivek and Vadivelu (Best Comedian 2005 and 2006 respectively), Prakashraj (Best Villain 2005)
Shankar (Best Director 2005, for Anniyan), actor Ajith Kumar (MGR Award) and Vikram (Nadikar Thilagam Sivaji Award).

Governor Surjit Singh Barnala was the chief guest at the event.