Chennai: The first edition of DESI [Digital Excellence of South India] Awards 2017 took place with pomp and splendour at Amma Arangam, Shennoy Nagar, Chennai on 11th Feb, 2018. The grand event was hosted by Smile Settai’s RJ Vigneshkanth and Chutti Aravind.
Trendloud and Shiv Dreamz’ DESI Awards presented by Fair & Handsome saw a plethora of special guests such as Director Balaji Mohan, Hip Hop Tamizha Aadhi and Director Mohan Raja. It was aimed at recognising and appreciating the best talents in the social media space, especially YouTube and Facebook Creators for the year 2017.
“Celebrating the Unity and Oneness of the South Indian Digital Creators” – the event brought several famous internet faces under one roof, notably Raj Mohan from Put Chutney, Harija and Vijay from Eruma Sani, Hari and Naresh from Jumpcuts, Nakkalites Team, Shahra, Augustin, Abdool, Vijay Varadaraj from Temple Monkeys and Gopi Sudhakar Duo from Madras Central, Prashant from Tamil Cinema Review, Maran from Tamil Talkies, Karthik from the famed Selfie Review to name a few.
Director Mohan Raja, who shared a few words of appreciation and encouragement, also reminisced his Thani Oruvan days when Hip Hop Aadhi introduced him to YouTube channels such as Smile Settai, Madras Meter and others.
Hip Hop Aadhi, who also gave away a few awards, dedicated a special performance from Meesaya Murukku to the young and upcoming YouTube stars.
Director Balaji Mohan was felicitated for his Tamil Web Series – As I Am Suffering from Kadhal” co-produced by Trendloud and Open Window. The Maari director also shared a few words of encouragement to the young film and digital aspirants.
Tinsel Town celeb couples such as Sriranjani and Amit Bhargav, Rio Raj and Shruti along with various Kollywood celebs such as Sanjana Singh and Balaji Venugopal were also seen enjoying the event.
Internet sensations, Julie from Bigg Boss and Mannai Sathik made their presence felt on stage with an entertaining performance. Julie was also awarded the “Trending Face of the Year Award”.
The evening also saw notable performances such as Silambam, performed by kids from Seyon Dhamo Institute of Martial Arts, Paraiattam from Nimirvu Kalaiyagam, music performances by YouTuber Shanthini Sathiyanatha and Violinist Manoj & band, and Freestyle Dance Performance by House of Moves.
CEO of Trendloud, Mr. Chidambaram Natesan, shared his views saying “We feel immense joy and pride that the first edition of DESI AWARDS took off well. I’m happy to announce that DESI AWARDS will soon felicitate great talent in other Southern languages too. As a company that believes in identifying and nurturing young talent, we want to reach out to more digital creators as the next step in our digital revolution. We heartily congratulate all the winners and nominees.”
The event concluded with an enticing rap from Hip Hop Aadhi dedicated to YouTubers and an emotional social message from Raj Mohan.
Fair and Handsome DESI Awards was made possible by our esteemed partners and sponsors – Sathya Agencies and Meat & Eat, in association with Tamara Fashion, our Channel Partner News 7 and Media partner tvnews4u.com.
Trendloud is catalyzed to ease the path for creators, brands, celebrities and audiences in the digital space. We are here to help you unleash your imagination in the digital space – YouTube, Facebook and beyond! It’s digital arm of twenty five year old south Indian television and media mogul, Vision Time India Pvt. Ltd. Since the inception in 2015, its established on the forefront of the South Indian digital content space with over hundred channels under the network with our owned and operated properties grossing about half a million subscribers.
Digital Media Company Shiv Dreamz was started with 5 people, RJ Vigneshkanth who is the CEO of Shivdreamz is now mentoring more than 35 young talents. Presenting serious issues in a funny and satirical way has been their strength which clicked with the digital audience.
