Tamil Nadu State Film Awards

They were given annually to honour the best talents and provide encouragement and incentive to the South Indian film industry by the Government of Tamil Nadu. The awards were decided by a committee headed by a Judge. The awards were first given in 1967 and discontinued after 1970. The awards were given again in 1977 and continued till 1982. The awards were not given in the years 1971 to 1976. However, in the year 1977, the awards for Best Actress and Best Actor were announced for the years 1971 to 1976 by way of honorary certificates by the government led by the then chief minister M.G.Ramachandran. Since 1988, the awards were regularly given until it became defunct in 2008.

After winning the election for the Producers Council of Tamil cinema, the chairman Vishal revealed that he would approach the government to reinstate the awards. The awards were reinstated in July 2017 after the government announced the wins for 2009–2014. After A Gap of 7 Years, the Awards for the Year 2015 was Announced on March 2024.

Awards are given in the following categories. Follow the links for lists of the award winners, year by year.

Creative Awards

• Best Film: since 1967
• Best Director: since 1967
• Best Family Film:2000 and 2001; since 2006
• Best Film Portraying Woman in Good Light: since 1994
• Best Actor: since 1967
• Best Actress: since 1967
• Best Supporting Actor: 1968 to 1970; since 2000
• Best Supporting Actress: 1968 to 1970; since 2000
• Best Villain: since 1995
• Best Comedian: 1980 to 1982; since 1995
• Best Child Artist: 1969 and 1970; 1977 and 1978; 1990; since 1994
• Best Music Director: 1968 to 1970; 1977 to 1982; since 1988
• Best Male Playback Singer: 1968 to 1970; 1977 to 1982; since 1988
• Best Female Playback Singer: 1968 to 1970; 1977 to 1982; since 1988

Technical Awards

• Best Stunt Coordinator: 1970; 1982; since 1988
• Best Art Director: since 1988
• Best Cinematographer: 1968 to 1970; 1977 to 1982; since 1988
• Best Choreographer: since 1988
• Best Audiographer: since 1988
• Best Lyricist: 1968 to 1970; 1977 to 1982; since 1988
• Best Male Dubbing Artist: since 2000
• Best Female Dubbing Artist: since 2000
• Best Editor: 1980 to 1982; since 1988
• Best Storywriter: 1968 to 1970; 1977 to 1982; since 1988
• Best Dialogue Writer: 1968 to 1970; 1977 to 1982; since 1988
• Best Make-up Artist: since 1993
• Best Costume Designer: since 1993

Special Awards

• Special Prizes: since 1970
• Honorary Award: since 1988

Retired Awards

• Best Male Debut – Karthik for Alaigal Oivathillai: 1981
• Best Female Debut – Radha for Alaigal Oivathillai: 1981

• Cinema of India