NEW DELHI: The Nominations for the 59th Idea Filmfare Awards (South) were announced at a press meet in Chennai yesterday evening.

The award ceremony will be held at Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu, (Nehru Indoor Stadium), Chennai on 7 July.

Actor Amla Paul along with Filmfare Editor Jitesh Pillaai and Idea Cellular Chief Marketing officer Sashi Shankar addressed the press meet.

Pillaai said, ?I?ve grown up on South films. I hold all the South stars, composers, directors and technicians in great esteem. It gives me great pleasure to come down South year-after-year to celebrate excellence in cinema. The South industry has accepted me as a part of their extended family and I?m looking forward to coming to Chennai on July 7th and participating in yet another gala event.?

On this association for the 5th year in a row, Shankar said, ??As in the past we hope that the event is grand with scintillating performances. Idea and Filmfare have long been closely associated and this is our way of honouring the people who have given us the magic of movies. Idea?s association with such premium programs enables it to offer rich content to its subscribers, making it the highest VAS revenue grosser in the industry. This year with the additions to our 3G portfolio including the new Idea 3G smartphones and affordable 3G tariffs, Idea subscribers and fans across Tamil Nadu and Chennai can access exclusive movie content on our 2G & 3G network.?

The Filmfare Awards (South) were first held at the prestigious Kalaivanar Arangam in Chennai. Eventually it shifted to the distinctive Music Academy. Initially, only Tamil and Telugu films were considered for the awards and later, Malayalam and Kannada films became part of the event in 1966 & 1969 respectively. The spirit of the awards lies in its popularity not just amongst the masses but also the film fraternity. It is the ultimate recognition of talent.

This year too, South Indian audiences were invited to vote for their favourites across 10 categories each, in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam films. Nominees have been selected through the public voting process that Filmfare is known for. Specially appointed juries have been set up to further wet the nominees and select the final winners.

MUMBAI: With the intent of massifying 3G and making it accessible to one and all, Idea Cellular hsd announced upto 70 per cent price reduction on its 3G services. Idea prepaid & postpaid customers will now pay 3p/10 KB of data, a reduction of 70% from the earlier levels of 10p/10KB. To cater to different consumer segments, Idea has launched its new pricing in sachet packs, regular packs and unlimited packs.

The new tariff plan aims to make internet usage within the reach of rural, mid town customers at home and will help first time users to experience the benefits of 3G. Idea?s objective is to drive mobile internet usage for the mass market.

Idea?s new sachet pack of Rs 10 will now offer 30 minutes of high speed internet surfing. Surfing the net on your 3G handsets is a now even more convenient than visiting a cyber caf? with this innovative price pack. Idea has also unveiled ?HERO-25? a new sachet pack which will give 100 MB data with 3 days validity at just Rs 25/-. Consumers, especially youngsters, will find these very lucrative to try and experience 3G services.

Idea Cellular CMO Sashi Shankar said, ?We have been a pioneer in 3G since inception and with these new prices; Idea has brought 3G within the reach of the masses. I am confident that new prices will generate a lot of trial and will drive off take. Our new sachet packs of Rs 10 & HERO-25 are aimed at youngsters who will access high speed internet on-the-go without worrying about the expense? .

For regular home and SoHo internet users, Idea now offers 1GB of data download at just Rs 250. Home internet users will find it very economical as it offers 21.1 Mbps vis a vis 2 Mbps speed of their wire line broadband. For professionals and corporate, Idea has unlimited plan priced at Rs 950/-.

The price changes are applicable for mobile phones and data card users.