The 55th Tiger Balm Filmfare Awards, South, had it all – glitz, glamour and emotions that just couldn’t be kept in check.

It was a moment to cherish. It was a moment that misted your eyes, brought a lump to your throat and warmed the cockles of your heart, all at the same time. It was the moment when father and Tiger Balm Filmfare Lifetime Achievement award winner Sivakumar shared the stage with his two strapping sons Surya and Karthi, who gave the award to him. The standing ovation was spontaneous and when Surya called out “amma, amma,” to his mother to share the stage, it underlined the fact that traditional value systems of the Indian family were still going strong. Not a dry eye in the audience.

It all started as Madhavan and Sindhura walked down to invite the audience to experience the show of a lifetime, the thousands of film-crazy fans in the Nehru Indoor Stadium cheered enthusiastically. After about four scintillating hours of awards and entertainment, Chennaiites went back to their homes thoroughly satisfied with the grandeur and glamour the event and the evening Awards offered them.

Emotions ran high as Paruthiveeran made a clean sweep with six awards that included the Best Film Award and the Best Actor Award. It was an ecstatic moment for the Sivakumar family, with father Sivakumar and son Karthi hugging the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Best Actor Award respectively.

As the audience experienced a rare celebration of South Indian cinema, the heady music and the energetic dances between the ward presentations had themon their feet. Sizzling dance performances by stars of the industry such as Shriya Saran (numbers like Vaaji Vaaji) and Rambha (numbers like Sei Edhavadhu Sei) had the crowd asking for more. Shobana and Vineeth’s impeccable steps lent grace to the occasion.

The emcees of the evening – Madhavan and Sindhura – delighted the crowd with their poise and a perfect sense of humour. Daring to be different in the middle of the event, Maddy walked towards the seated guests for an audience interaction and surprised them. “Why don’t you sing a song for us, Tabu,” he asked the pretty actress, even as she gushed and smiled at the eager lensman. She later obliged the audience when on stage to give away an award.

The Best Music Director Award went to AR Rahman for his tunes in Sivaji, but the music whiz was not present to receive his award, much to the disappointment of many fans.

“We don’t get to talk about movies much at home,” said Paruthiveeran Karthi, who was on cloud nine, “I consider my dad getting the Lifetime Award more special than my award.” For brother Surya, it was a double treat to watch his family dominate the ‘Black Ladies!

The day was certainly a happy one for director Sekhar Kammula and his crew of Happy Days as the movie walked away with six black ladies in the Telugu section. The joy was visible on the faces of the crew who cheered every time a member of the team won an award. While Happy Days walked away with the awards for Best Film (Sekhar Kammula and Chandra S Kammula), Best Direction (Sekhar Kammula), Best Music Director (Mickey J Meyer), Best Supporting actress (Sonia), Best Lyricist (Vanamaali) and Best Male Playback Singer (Karthik), Yamadonga fetched the Best actor award for Junior NTR. The Best actress award went to Trisha for Adavari Mataluku Ardhale Verule. Speaking after receiving the award, she said," I'm truly honoured holding this award for the third time."

Director Sekhar Kammula said, "Usually this kind of clean sweeps don't happen in Filmfare. At least, that's what I've been told. The film has won awards in several categories and that shows that it's a complete film. For me, personally, I've won a national award for Dollar Dreams and a couple of state awards for Anand and Godavari. But all this while, I didn't win a Filmfare award. Then, this blockbuster happened. Only the most popular movies get Filmfare awards and that's the benchmark for Filmfare."

Music Director Mickey J Meyer, who received the award for the sensational music of Happy Days from Director Vasanth and actor Srikanth, said,"I had been longing to work with Sekhar Kammula. Finally, I got an opportunity to meet him and he heard my previous albums and was impressed with my work. It was then that he gave me the script of Happy Days. "It's been my dream to receive a Filmfare award. It means a lot to me. I wish to thank my director Sekhar and my brother Tarun."

In the Kannada section, Aa Dinagalu fetched Sayad Aman and M S Ravindra the award for the Best Film and the Best Director award for Chaitanya. Speaking on the occasion, Chaitanya, who thanked his wife and guru, said,"Filmfare does not have the Best Cinematographer and the Best Editor categories. Had they been there, I'm sure my cinematographer and editor would have won those awards."

The Best Actor award went to Vijay for Duniya, which also fetched Rashmi the award for Best Actress.

Actress Tara, who won the Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film Ee Bandhana, said," I feel honoured and encouraged by this award." The BestSupporting Actor award went to Sharath Lohitashwa, who said," This is my first Filmfare award and it has given confidence to take on more and more creative and difficult roles."

In the Malayalam section, the Best Actor award went to ace actor Mohanlal for his spledid performance in Paradesi while the Best Actress award went to Meera Jasmine for her role in Orekadal. Mohanlal admitted on stage that he himself considered the role he essayed in the film as the best he’s played. The Best Film award went to Sreenivasan and Mukesh for Katha Parayumpol.

The title sponsor of the show was Tiger Balm and the associate sponsor was BSNL. The Telecast partner was Sun TV Network Ltd and the event was supported by Radio Mirchi. Black Dog United Spirits was one of the partners as was Oriental Cine Advertising Pvt Ltd.Hospitality partner was The Park, and the event was managed by 360º Experience with Oxygen Entertainment as event consultants.