| The Vijay Awards | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Excellence in cinematic achievements in Tamil cinema |
| Country | India |
| Presented by | STAR Vijay |
| First awarded | 2007 |
The Vijay Awards are presented by the Tamil television channel STAR Vijay to honour excellence in Tamil cinema. It has been given annually since 2006, with the latest—the 10th edition—of the award-giving ceremony having been held in May 2018.[1] The awards are decided by a jury, consisting of noted film-makers, critics and technicians, while winners in a separate category named "Favourite awards" are chosen by public voting.[2] The awards have been sponsored by Reliance Mobile, Univercell and Close Up. After the last ceremony was the 10th Vijay Awards in 2018, the Vijay Awards were cancelled due to past controversies and waning public interest.
The first edition of the awards was held to select the most popular artists, however not for any particular work or year. In the first year of the awards, viewers were asked to choose their all time favourite film and artists in nine categories - Favourite Hero, Heroine, Film, Director, Music Director, Playback Singer Male/Female, Villain and Comedian - while 10 Jury Special Awards were also introduced.[3][4][5] The format was completely reworked for the following year and from 2008 onwards, the works of the preceding year were honoured, with the majority of prizes being selected by a committee, while awards in five categories (Favourite Hero, Heroine, Film, Director and Song) chosen by public voting. The award for Favourite Song was introduced in 2008.
The ceremony is held every year at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai and is telecasted on STAR Vijay only. However, it is not televised live. Except for the first edition, the ceremonies are held in May, June or July, though always before the announcement of the Filmfare Awards South.
| Ceremony | Date | Host(s) | Sponsor(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Vijay Awards | 23 June 2007 | Yugi Sethu | Reliance Mobile |
| 2nd Vijay Awards | 3 May 2008 | Yugi Sethu | Reliance Mobile |
| 3rd Vijay Awards | 13 June 2009 | C Gopinath | Univercell |
| 4th Vijay Awards | 29 May 2010 | C Gopinath | Univercell |
| 5th Vijay Awards | 25 June 2011 | C Gopinath and Sivakarthikeyan | Close-Up |
| 6th Vijay Awards | 16 June 2012 | C Gopinath and Sivakarthikeyan | Close-Up |
| 7th Vijay Awards | 11 May 2013 | C Gopinath and R Madhavan | Close-Up |
| 8th Vijay Awards | 5 July 2014 | C Gopinath and Divyadharshini | Gionee |
| 9th Vijay Awards | 25 April 2015 | C Gopinath and Divyadharshini | Poorvika |
| 10th Vijay Awards | 25 May 2018 | C Gopinath and Divyadharshini | Poorvika |