93.5 SFM Kalaa Awards 2008

The Sun Network promoted FM venture Kal Radio, 93.5 SFM Karnataka, hosted the Kalaa Awards 2008 in Bangalore on January 24. The colourful event, organized to felicitate the best artists in the Karnataka music industry, was attended by many stars from Sandalwood.

'Jinkemarina' from Nanda Loves Nandita was adjudged the Favourite Song of 2008. Raghu Dixit and Nandita were voted as Favourite Singers while Kaviraj was adjudged Favorite Lyricist. Gurukiran was conferred the Music Icon of the year award and music directors Hamsalekha, V. Manohar, Rajesh Ramnath and Sadhu Kokila were given special awards for their contributions to the Kannada music industry.

There were no nominations for the awards and winners were selected through a new system of voting in which listeners were free to vote for the stars they liked. There were five categories of awards: Favourite Male and Female Singer, Music Director, Lyricist and Favourite Song. Two listeners Ramesh and Bhavya who had sent the maximum number of messages were given the opportunity to felicitate the Favourite Male and Female singers.

Speaking on the occasion, Daya Devaiah, Station Head (Karnataka) said, "This is one of many such achievements for SFM Karnataka. It is a privilege for us to host this first of a kind event where we felicitate the music icons of the Kannada film industry. With the continued support of the media and the industry, we look forward to an exciting year ahead."