1) Tamil Film Kanavu Variyam wins REMI Award.
- Kanavu Variyam, a Tamil movie directed by a Chennai-based techie Arun Chidambaram, has gone on to win the prestigious Remi Award in the US.
- The award will be handed over to Chidambaram during the 49th WorldFest Houston International Film Festival, where the movie will have its world premiere. Chidambaram, who earlier worked with a multi-national company in the US abandoned his lucrative job to follow his passion – movies.
- The song Kalla Manna has been accepted for screening at the “Bare Bones International and Music Festival in Oklahoma. Chidambaram said that the song has a compilation of 51 traditional games of rural India.
- The previous recipients of the Remi Award, which is given to independent films and filmmakers, include George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, the Coen Brothers and Ang Lee.
2) Malayalam film Ottal named best children`s film at Berlin International Film Festival.
- 2016 Berlin International Film FestivalMalayalam film ``Ottal`` was named the Best Children`s Film at the 2016 Berlin International Film Festival in Germany. It was honoured with the Crystal Bear Award in the `Generation K-Plus` section.
- The film, directed by Jayaraj Rajasekharan Nair, is about the story of an old fisherman and his grandson. The movie is an adaptation of Anton Chekhov`s short story `Vanaka`.
- Jayaraj is known for adapting literary classic into films. He has earlier made films based on Shakespeare`s works such as "Othello" and "Antony and Cleopatra". This is the third year in a row that Indian films have triumphed.
- Earlier winners were "Killa" 2014 and "Dhanak" 2015.
- "Ottal" bagged the National Award for best film on Environment Conservation/ Preservation and it set a record at 20th International Film Festival of Kerala by sweeping all the top awards.
3)Six Indian Americans to be awarded the Presidential Early Career award.
- US President Barack Obama to honour six Indian Americans, who have made to the list of 106 scientists and engineers, with the highest US government prize for young independent researchers.
- The Indian Americans selected for the Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers are Milind Kulkarni (Purdue University), Kiran Musunuru (Harvard University), Sachin Patel (Vanderbilt University Medical Centre), Vikram Shyam (NASA), Rahul Mangharam (University of Pennsylvania) and Shwetak Patel (University of Washington).
4)Tamil Film Kanavu Variyam wins REMI Award.
- Kanavu Variyam, a Tamil movie directed by a Chennai-based techie Arun Chidambaram, has gone on to win the prestigious Remi Award in the US.
- The award will be handed over to Chidambaram during the 49th WorldFest Houston International Film Festival, where the movie will have its world premiere.
- Chidambaram, who earlier worked with a multi-national company in the US abandoned his lucrative job to follow his passion – movies.
- According to him, the film is about the most familiar problem faced by people in Tamil Nadu: incessant power cuts.
- Other than the Remi Award, the movie also won the Special Jury Award at the National Science Festival. The song Kalla Manna has been accepted for screening at the Bare Bones International and Music Festival in Oklahoma.
5) Ex-DRDO Chairman Dr. Avinash Chander received Aryabhata Award 2013.
- Former Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister and ex-DRDO chief Dr. Avinash Chander received the prestigious Astronautical Society of India`s Aryabhata Award 2013.
- He received the award from Dr. R. Chidambaram, Principal Scientific Adviser to Union Government and Dr. A.S. Kiran Kumar, Chairman ISRO, at ASI-ISRO Awards function held at Space Applications Centre (SAC) in Ahmedabad.
- Besides, Dr. Ranganath R. Navalgund, Vikram Sarabhai Distinguished Professor, received the Aryabhata Award for the year 2012.
About Aryabhata Award:
- It was named after the fifth century Indian astronomer and mathematician and also in commemoration of the first Indian Satellite launched on 19 April 1975, Aryabhata.
- It is presented every year to an individual for outstanding lifetime contribution to the promotion of astronautics in India.
6) Ranveer Singh selected for Dinanath Mangeshkar award.
- Actor Ranveer Singh was selected for Pandit Dinanath Mangeshkar award. The award will be bestowed upon Ranveer by Lata Mangeshkar at a function to be held in Pune.
- The award is annually conferred on artists on 24 April to commemorate Pandit Dinanath Mangeshkar’s death anniversary.
- About Pandit Dinanath Mangeshkar Award
- Pandit Dinanath Mangeshkar award was instituted in 1999 in the memory of Dinanath Mangeshkar, father of Lata Mangeshkar. Since then it is awarded annually to persons for their outstanding contributions to music and movies.
7) Lalita Babar named sports person of the year.
- Long-distance runner Lalita Babar was named as the Sports Person of the Year in the India Sports Awards 2015.
- The Indian Sports Award were given away at the conclusion of day one of ‘Turf 2015-16’, organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) with the support of the Sports Ministry.
- Babar qualified for Rio Olympics recently in the 3000m steeple chase event and is the current Indian national record holder.
- Hockey legend Balbir Singh has been conferred with the Lifetime Achievement award.
Award Winners – Complete List
Best Company Promoting Sports (Public Sector): Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC.
Best Company Promoting Sports (Private Sector): YES Bank Pvt Ltd.
Best Professional Services Company: Technology Frontiers (India) Pvt Ltd.
Best NGO Promoting Sports: STAIRS.
Best Sports Start-up: Hot Fut Sports Infrastructure Pvt Ltd.
Best National Sports Federation: Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India.
Sports Person of the Year: Lalita Babar (Athletics).
Breakthrough Sports Person of the Year: Dipa Karmakar (Gymnastics).
Coach or Support Staff of the Year: Kuldeep Handoo (Wushu).
Best State: Gujarat
8) Resul Pookutty wins Golden Reel Award.
- Oscar-winning sound designer Resul Pookutty has won the award for best sound for documentary “India’s Daughter” at the coveted Motion Picture Sound Editors’ 63rd annual Golden Reel Awards.
- The Oscar-winning sound engineer said he is the first Asian to win the coveted award at the 63rd Golden Reel Award from the Motion Picture Sound Editors’ (MPSE) of US for best sound.
9) The 2016 Oscars Winners – Complete List.
- The 88th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2015.
- The Academy is known around the world for its annual Academy Awards, now officially known as The ``Oscars``.
The 2016 Oscars Winners – Complete List
Best picture: ``Spotlight``
Best actor: Leonardo DiCaprio, ``The Revenant``
Best actress: Brie Larson, ``Room``
Best supporting actor: Mark Rylance, ``Bridge of Spies``
Best supporting actress: Alicia Vikander, ``The Danish Girl``
Best director: ``The Revenant``, Alejandro G. Iñárritu
Best original screenplay: ``Spotlight``, by Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy
Best adapted screenplay: ``The Big Short``, Charles Randolph and Adam McKay
Best costume design: ``Mad Max: Fury Road``, Jenny Beavan
Best production design: ``Mad Max: Fury Road``, production design by Colin Gibson; set decoration by Lisa Thompson
Best makeup and hairstyling: ``Mad Max: Fury Road``, Lesley Vanderwalt, Elka Wardega and Damian Martin
Best cinematography: ``The Revenant``, Emmanuel Lubezki
Best film editing: ``Mad Max: Fury Road``, Margaret Sixel
Best sound editing: ``Mad Max: Fury Road``, Mark Mangini and David White
Best sound mixing: ``Mad Max: Fury Road``, Chris Jenkins, Gregg Rudloff and Ben Osmo
Best visual effects: ``Ex Machina``, Andrew Whitehurst, Paul Norris, Mark Ardington and Sara Bennett
Best animated short film: ``Bear Story``, Gabriel Osorio and Pato Escala
Best animated feature film: ``Inside Out``, Pete Docter and Jonas Rivera
Best documentary, short subject: ``A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness``, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
Best documentary feature: ``Amy``, Asif Kapadia and James Gay-Rees
Best live-action short film: ``Stutterer``, Benjamin Cleary and Serena Armitage
Best foreign-language film: ``Son of Saul``, Hungary`
Best original song: ``Writing’s on the Wall`` from ``Spectre`` Music and lyric by Jimmy Napes and Sam Smith
Best original score: ``The Hateful Eight``, Ennio Morricone