54 Recipients of the Kalaimamani Award

The Kalaimamani is the highest civilian award in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. These awards are given by the Tamil Nadu Iyal Isai Nataka Mandram, a unit of the Directorate of Art and Culture, Government of Tamil Nadu, to recognise artists in the state for their achievements.

Jamshad Cethirakath, known mononymously by his stage name Arya, is an Indian actor and producer who predominantly appears in Tamil cinema. Arya has won the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut – South and received two nominations each for Filmfare Awards and Vijay Awards. He was included on the 2015 edition of the Forbes India Celebrity 100, a list based on the top earning Indian celebrities.

Asin Thottumkal, known mononymously as Asin, is a former Indian actress who appeared in Tamil, Hindi, and Telugu films. She is a trained Bharatanatyam dancer. She has received three Filmfare Awards. She began her acting career in the South Indian film industry, but later shifted her focus to Bollywood. She speaks eight languages, and dubs her own films. She is the only Malayali actress, other than Padmini, to have dubbed in her own voice for all her films, irrespective of language. Asin has been referred to as the "Queen of Kollywood" by online portals in 2007.

Thangar Bachan is an Indian film director and actor, cinematographer and novelist. He has served as jury member in National Film Awards.

Kailasam Balachander was an Indian film maker and playwright who worked mainly in the Tamil film industry. He was well known for his distinct film-making style, and the Indian film industry knew him as a master of unconventional themes and hard-hitting contemporary subject matter. Balachander's films are well known for their portrayal of women as bold personalities and central characters. Popularly referred to as Iyakkunar Sigaram, his films are usually centred on unusual or complicated interpersonal relationships and social themes. He started his film career in 1964 as a screenwriter and graduated to a director with Neerkumizhi (1965).

Cheran is an Indian film director and actor known for his works in Tamil cinema. He is a four time National Film Award winner for Vetri Kodi Kattu (2000), Autograph (2004) and Thavamai Thavamirundhu (2005). He has also won five Tamil Nadu State Film Awards and six South Filmfare Awards.

Krishnan Nair Shantakumari Chithra, credited as K. S. Chithra or Chithra, is an Indian playback singer and Carnatic musician. In a career spanning over four decades, she has recorded over 25,000 songs in various Indian languages including Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Hindi, Odia, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati, Tulu, Rajasthani, Urdu, Sanskrit, and Badaga as well as foreign languages such as Malay, Latin, Arabic, Sinhalese, English and French. She is also known for her extensive history of collaboration in the songs with Music Composers A.R. Rahman, Ilaiyaraja, Hamsalekha, M. M. Keeravani and with the playback singers KJ Yesudas and SP Balasubramaniyam over the years. She is regarded as a cultural icon of Kerala and is fondly called as the Melody Queen and Nightingale of South India.

Bhairappa Saroja Devi(born 7 January 1938), known as B. Saroja Devi, is an Indian actress who has acted in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi movies. She acted in around 200 films in over six decades. She is known by the epithets "Abhinaya Saraswathi" in Kannada and "Kannadathu Paingili" in Tamil.

Aishwarya Rajinikanth Dhanush is an Indian film director and playback singer. She is the elder daughter of actor Rajinikanth. She made her feature film directorial debut with 3 (2012) starring her husband Dhanush.

Seetha Doraiswamy, was a renowned Carnatic multi-instrumentalist. She was the last recognised female exponent of a dying Indian instrument, the jal tarang. She was the first female musician ever to be awarded the Gold Medal of Honour from The Music Academy, the first Carnatic music Institute. She is the only Jal Tarang exponent to have ever received the Kalaimamani award by Government of Tamil Nadu, in 2001, with the citation reading "(Seetha) has tirelessly worked to prevent the jalatharangam from becoming extinct and is often recognized only for that; it is time to bring to notice the fact that she championed for the cause of equal female representation during a time where our cultural norms may have not."

“Kalaimamani” Gayathri Girish is a Carnatic vocalist. Her introduction to music began as a child at the age of 6 years under the guidance of her mother Padmini Srinivasan. She subsequently came under the tutelage of Vidwan Vaigal.S.Gnanaskandan and Padma Bhushan, Sangeetha Kalanidhi Madurai T.N.Seshagopalan. She is an “A-grade” artiste of All India Radio, Chennai and performs for Doordarshan and other private television channels. She specialises in lecture-sessions, thematic multi-media presentations integrating Bhakti and Carnatic Music and lecture-demonstrations. She undertook an archival project for Doordarshan - Podhigai TV titled “Azhwargalum Amudha Tamizhum” to render the Azhwar Pasurams on DD Podhigai television every week for 8 consecutive years. She also serves on the artist panel for the ICCR which is an autonomous organisation of the Government of India, involved in India's external cultural relations, through cultural exchange with other countries and their peoples.

M.S. Gopalakrishnan, a.k.a. MSG, was a violinist in the field of Carnatic music. He is commonly grouped with Lalgudi Jayaraman and T.N.Krishnan as part of the violin-trinity of Carnatic Music. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1997. He was a recipient of the Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri, Kalaimamani, Sangeetha Kalanidhi and Sangeet Natak Akademi awards.

Hariharan is an Indian playback, bhajan and ghazal singer from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, whose songs have been featured in 5000 songs mainly in Tamil and Hindi. Also he sang notable songs in 10 languages some of them Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi and Bhojpuri films. He is an established Ghazal singer and one of the pioneers of Indian fusion music. In 2004, he was honoured with the Padma Shri by the Government of India and is a two-time National Award winner.

Jasmine Mary Joseph, known professionally as Meera Jasmine, is an Indian actress who appears primarily in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada language films. She was a popular lead actress during the 2000s.

Paliyath Jayachandrakuttan, often credited as P. Jayachandran, or Jayachandran is an Indian playback singer and classical musician from Kerala. Jayachandran is best known for his captivating voice which gave him the title Bhava Gayakan by the music fraternity of South India. He has worked under all famous music directors like G Devarajan, MS Baburaj, V Dakshinamoorthy, K Raghavan, MS Viswanathan, Ilaiyaraaja, Vidya sagar, AR Rahman, MM Keeravani, MK Arjunan, Shyam etc.

Chinni Jayanth is an Indian film director, producer, comedian, actor and mimicry artist who has appeared in many main, character and supporting roles in Tamil films. He is also a popular television personality having hosted hit shows like Sagalai Vs Ragalai, Kalakka Povathu Yaar and Asathapovathu Yaaru on Sun TV in Chennai. He is also a recipient of the Kalaimamani award given by the Government of Tamil Nadu for excellence in the field of cinema. He received this award from the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu at a glittering function at Valluvar Kottam.

Harris Jayaraj is an Indian film composer from Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He is best known for his melodies. He composes soundtracks predominantly for Tamil films, while also having composed for a few films in Telugu and two films in Hindi.

"Bombay" Jayashri Ramnath is an Indian musician. She has sung in multiple languages including Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi movies. Born into a family of musicians, Jayashri represents the fourth generation of music practitioners in her family. Trained by Lalgudi Jayaraman and T R Balamani, She was awarded India's fourth highest civilian award the Padma Shri in 2021. She has become one of the most sought after Carnatic musicians today.

Jyothika Saravanan is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Tamil films. She also acted in some Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi films. She won three Filmfare Awards, three Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, four Dinakaran Awards, International Tamil Film Awards and other awards and nominations. She is also a recipient of the Kalaimamani Award. She has been ranked among the best actresses of South India by The Times of India.

Embar S. Kannan is a violinist in the fields of Carnatic Music and Tamil Film Music. Trained in Carnatic as well as Western Classical methods, he is a Grade 'A top' artist of the All India Radio and is universally acclaimed as a soloist and an accompanist.

Ajith Kumar is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Tamil cinema. To date, he has starred in over 60 films in Tamil. His awards include four Vijay Awards, three Cinema Express Awards, three Filmfare Awards South and three Tamil Nadu State Film Awards. In addition to his acting, Kumar is also a motor car racer and participated in the MRF Racing series (2010).

Meena is an Indian actress who predominantly works in the South Indian film industry. Meena debuted as a child artist in the Tamil film Nenjangal in 1982 and has later appeared in films produced by various regional industries. Meena has been a superstar for over three decades by pairing up with many big stars In South India.

Mohan Rangachari known professionally as Crazy Mohan, was an Indian actor, comedian, screenwriter and playwright. An engineer by profession, Mohan started writing plays and established his own drama troupe called "Crazy Creations" in 1979. In addition to dramas and tele-serials, Mohan worked as a dialogue writer on a number of comedy films. Mohan had written over 30 plays, worked on over 40 films, having cameo roles in each film, and written 100 short stories. The Tamil Nadu state government in the year 2004, awarded him the Kalaimamani title for excellence in the field of arts and literature.

Dhanya Raju Nair, known by her stage name Navya Nair, is an Indian film actress who has appeared in Malayalam, Kannada and few Tamil films. She is a recipient of 2 Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress, one Filmfare Award for Best Actress - Malayalam and the Kalaimamani award. As of September 2021, she has acted in over 51 films.

Kumaresan Duraisamy, known professionally by his stage name Napoleon or Nepoleon, is an Indian actor, politician and entrepreneur. He was the Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment in Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's cabinet. He has acted in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and English movies.

Nayanthara is an Indian actress who predominantly appears and works in Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam cinema. She was the only South Indian female actor to have made it to the Forbes India “Celebrity 100”, 2018 list, with her total earning credited at ₹ 15.17 crores. Nayanthara is often referred as Lady Superstar of South Indian cinema. She has acted in more than 75 films.

Prashanth Thiagarajan, known professionally as Prashanth, is an Indian actor and businessman, known for his works predominantly in Tamil cinema. He has also appeared in few Telugu, Hindi and Malayalam films. At the peak of his career in the late 1990s, Prashanth was one of the biggest actors in South India. He has won a Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut – South, a Kalaimamani Award from the Government of Tamil Nadu, and a Cinema Express Award.

Tanjavur R. Ramamoorthy was a vidwan in Indian classical music, playing Carnatic music on the mridangam, an ancient Indian percussion instrument. The mridangam is the primary rhythmic accompaniment in a Carnatic music ensemble, and in the Dhrupad genre, where it is known as a pakhawaj.

Leela Samson is a Bharatanatyam dancer, choreographer, instructor and writer from India. As a soloist, she is known for her technical virtuosity and has taught Bharatanatyam at Shriram Bhartiya Kala Kendra in Delhi for many years.

Dr. Gayatri Sankaran is a visually challenged Indian Carnatic musician and vocalist by nature specialising in Carnatic vocals and violin performances. She is a recipient of the Kalaimamani award from Tamil Nadu Eyal Isai Nataka Manram, a unit of the Directorate of Art and Culture, Government of Tamil Nadu. The Government of India honoured her in 2006, with the award of Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian award for his contributions to music, making her the first visually impaired woman to receive the award.

Sarathkumar Ramanathan is an Indian film actor, politician, Film director, Film producer, Screenwriter, Playback singer, journalist and former body builder and former president of the South Indian Film Artistes' Association. He has acted in more than 130 Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada films.

Malavika Sarukkai is an Indian classical dancer and choreographer specializing in Bharatanatyam. A 2002 winner of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, she was honoured by the Government of India in 2003 with Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian award.

Sweety Shetty, known by her stage name Anushka Shetty, is an Indian actress and model who predominantly works in the Telugu and Tamil film industries. She has received several accolades, including three CineMAA Awards, a Nandi Award, TN State Film Awards and three Filmfare Awards from eight nominations. Anushka, who has appeared in over 50 films, is one of the highest-paid actresses in India and is popularly referred as Lady Superstar of South Indian cinema.

Silambarasan Thesingu Rajendar, also credited by his initials S. T. R. or nickname Simbu, is an Indian actor, director, writer, composer, dancer, lyricist and playback singer in the Tamil film industry. He began his acting career by playing roles as a child artist in films directed by his father T. Rajendar, before his first lead role in Kadhal Azhivathillai (2002), under his father's direction and produced by his mother Usha.

Simran Bagga, known mononymously as Simran, is an Indian actress, producer and dancer. She has predominantly appeared in Tamil films, in addition to Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi films. She is well noted for her dancing and acting skills in the Indian film industry. In her long film career, she has won three Filmfare Awards South, one Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actress, four Cinema Express Awards, two Kalaimamani Awards, and several other regional awards and nominations.

Sivamani, commonly known by his stage name Drums Sivamani, is an Indian percussionist and music director. He plays many instruments including drums, octoban, darbuka, udukai, ghatam and kanjira. He performed drumming during the IPL Championships in 2008 and 2010. He is affiliated with the Chennai Super Kings team, but gained recognition through his role as A. R. Rahman's lead percussionist. They have been close friends since childhood. In 2019, he was conferred with Padma Shri.

Suhasini Rajaram Naidu, known by her stage name Sneha, is an Indian actress who works primarily in Tamil and Telugu language films. She debuted in the Malayalam film Ingane Oru Nilapakshi (2000), directed by Anil – Babu and was later signed for the Tamil film Virumbugiren, though it was only released two years later. She started getting offers in Tamil and moved her focus to Tamil cinema; and the movie Ennavale, where she starred opposite R. Madhavan, was released first in the same year. She had her first commercial success with Aanandham in the year 2001. She became one of Tamil cinema's contemporary lead actresses in the 2000s, following appearances in several commercially successful films.

N. Srinivasan is a digital artist in the fields of art and architecture. He uses technology and traditional subject matter for most of his artwork.

Anuradha Sriram is an Indian carnatic and playback singer who hails from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. She has sung more than 4,000 songs in Tamil, Telugu, Sinhala, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali and Hindi films.

Padma Subrahmanyam, is an Indian classical Bharata Natyam dancer. She is also a research scholar, choreographer, music composer, musician, teacher, Indologist and author. She is famous in India as well as abroad; several films and documentaries have been made in her honor by countries such as Japan, Australia and Russia. She is well known as the developer and founder of the dance form Bharata Nrithyam. She is a devotee of the Paramacharya of Kanchi.

Sukumari Amma was an Indian film actress best known for her works in Malayalam and Tamil films. In a career spanning more than five decades, she acted in over 2,500 films, including in Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Oriya and Bengali. Sukumari began acting at the age of 10. In 2003, she was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India for her contributions toward the arts. She won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the Tamil film Namma Gramam (2010). Sukumari died on 26 March 2013 in Chennai, following a heart attack.

Vinayagar Sundar Vel, known professionaly as Sundar C., is an Indian film director, actor and producer. He has directed over 34 films in Tamil and acted in over nine movies as the protagonist.

Saravanan Sivakumar, known by his stage name Suriya, is an Indian actor, producer, television presenter and a philanthrophist. He is best known for his work in Tamil cinema, where he is one of the highest paid actors. Among his awards include three Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, four Filmfare Awards South, two Edison Awards, a Cinema Express Award, a CineMAA Award and a Vijay Award. Based on the earnings of Indian celebrities, Suriya has been included in the Forbes India Celebrity 100 list six times.

Swarnalatha was an Indian playback singer. In a career spanning almost 22 years, she recorded over 10,000 songs in many Indian languages, including Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Oriya, Punjabi, and Badaga.

Trisha Krishnan, known mononymously as Trisha, is an Indian actress and model, who primarily works in Tamil and Telugu language films. She was noticed after winning several beauty pageants like the Miss Chennai contest (1999), which marked her entry into the film industry.

Kumaravadivel Natarajan, known professionally as Vadivelu, is an Indian actor, comedian and playback singer. Since the 1990s, he has performed in supporting and lead roles as a comedy actor in Tamil cinema.

Rajhesh Vaidhya, is an Indian veena player born on 14 June 1973 hailing from Tamil Nadu. Besides performing on stage, he has worked with various film music composers. He also acted in the movie Viswa Thulasi and in Premi, a tele-serial aired in Sun TV. Vaidhya was a winner of the 2010 Kalaimamani award for his veena playing.

Lakshminarayana Vaidyanathan was an acclaimed musicologist, music director and composer, trained in the classical Carnatic music tradition. Vaidyanathan was born in Chennai to V. Lakshminarayana, and Seethalakshmi, both accomplished musicians. He was the elder brother of accomplished violinist duo L. Shankar and L. Subramaniam. He created the tunes of the iconic TV serial Malgudi Days. All three brothers received their musical training from their father.

Vasudevan Peethambharan, known professionally as P. Vasu, is an Indian director, writer and actor who works in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi and Malayalam films. In a career spanning three decades, Vasu has directed over 64 films.

Vidyasagar is an Indian composer, musician and singer who works predominantly in the Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi film industries. After working with several composers as assistant and conductor, Vidyasagar made his debut as a film composer in the 1989 Tamil film Poo Manam&nicknamed as Melody King Working for over 225 feature films, he is the recipient of the National Award and five Filmfare Awards.

Joseph Vijay Chandrasekhar, known mononymously as Vijay, is an Indian film actor, dancer, playback singer and philanthropist who works predominantly in Tamil cinema and also appeared in other Indian languages films. Vijay is the highest paid actor in south India. He has significant fan following globally and has acted in 64 films as a lead actor. He has won won numerous awards, including eight Vijay Awards by Star India, three Tamil Nadu State Film Awards by Government of Tamil Nadu, and a SIIMA Award. He has been included several times in the Forbes India Celebrity 100 list, based on the earnings of Indian celebrities.

Kennedy John Victor, better known by his stage name Vikram, is an Indian film actor and playback singer who predominantly appears in Tamil cinema and also appeared in Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi cinema. He is among the most decorated actors in Tamil cinema, with awards including seven Filmfare Awards South, a National Film Award and a Tamil Nadu State Film Award. Amongst his other honours include the Kalaimamani Award from the Government of Tamil Nadu in 2004 and an honorary doctorate by the Popular University of Milan in May 2011. Based on the earnings of Indian celebrities, Vikram was included in the Forbes India Celebrity 100 list for 2016 and 2018. He did several variety roles in his films, and he is among the prolific actors in Tamil cinema.

Vineeth Radhakrishnan is an Indian film actor, classical dancer, voice artist and choreographer who primarily works in Malayalam, Tamil and Telegu language films. He has also starred in a few Kannada and Bollywood films. He has won several awards including 2 Kerala State Film Awards, Kalaimamani from Government of Tamil Nadu and Filmfare Award South.