18th Edison Awards opens public voting at Chennai curtain raiser

The 18th annual Edison Awards has opened its public voting cycle at edisonawards.in. The lap was launched on Friday with a curtain raiser at Hotel Ambika Empire in Chennai, attended by Radharavi, Ambika, Vikraman, Jagan, stunt master Silva, singer Anthony Daasan, Dr CMK Reddy and Tamilaga Vaazhvurimai Katchi president Velmurugan, with the awards’ founder Selvakumar hosting.

Radharavi opened the speaking slots and credited Selvakumar for keeping the body alive without institutional backing. “Eighteen years is no small thing. Just being in cinema is itself a privilege, and that this celebration honours those of us who work in it is the joy of the day,” he said. Ambika, attending in person between shoots, said she had cleared the date specifically to be in the room and called Radharavi family. Vikraman, whose son won the Edison for Best Debut Actor, said he was hoping for a Best Actor follow-up next, placing the Edison “alongside Filmfare, the National Award and the Tamil Nadu State Awards” as recognitions worth chasing.

Jagan, who has anchored the ceremony three years running, walked through his fan-side picks on the dais, namechecking Radharavi’s comic timing in Chinna Mappillai and the filmographies of Ambika and Vikraman. Singer Anthony Daasan thanked the body for honouring playback work. “When I started out, the applause of the people around me was my biggest encouragement. Once I came into cinema, awards took on that role,” he said.

Stunt master Silva, who took an Edison for Chithirai Sevvaanam, used his slot to thank the seniors on the dais and to flag how thin external recognition is for crew in their early years. “We always had this longing back then. Would anyone besides the director ever notice our work?” he said. Dr CMK Reddy, speaking from the medical fraternity, urged producers to back films that push behaviour change on smoking and other public-health issues. Velmurugan added a political note, citing Radharavi as one of the few from the industry to have publicly named his work even across ideological lines.

Public voting for the 18th edition is open at edisonawards.in.

In pictures