Tamil cinema had plenty to celebrate at the SIIMA Awards 2026, with Tourist Family and Bison Kaalamadan among the winners of the night.
Tourist Family directed by debut filmmaker Abishan Jeevinth, took home 6 awards in the Critics Choice categories, including Best Film.
Abishan receive Best Debut Director, while the film’s lead stars Sasikumar and Simran won Best Actor and Best Actress respectively. Yogi Babu was named Best Comedian.
A Big Night for Tourist Family
Tourist Family follows a Sri Lankan Tamil refugee family seeking shelter in Tamil Nadu, with the strong exploring their experiences while balancing humour and emotional family moments.
Alongside Sasikumar and Simran, the film stars Yogi Babu, Mithun Jai Shankar, Kamalesh, MS Bhaskar, and Ramesh Thilak, among others. The film’s music was composed by Sean Roldan with Aravind Viswanathan handline cinematography and Bharath Vikraman serving as editor.
It was jointly produced by Nazareth Pasilian, Mahesh Raj Pasilian, and Yuvaraj Ganesan under Million Dollar Studios and MRP Entertainment.
Dhruv Vikram Wins for Bison Kaalamadan
Another major win of the night went to Dhruv Vikram, who received the SIIMA Best Actor Award (Critics) for Bison Kaalamadan.
Directed by Mari Selvaraj, the film follows a kabaddi player from rural Tamil Nadu who faces violence, family struggles, and the expectations placed on him as he works towards his dream of becoming a successful player. For the role, Dhruv went through changes to his appearance, body language and acting style to bring the character to life.
Other SIIMA 2026 Tamil Cinema Winners
- Best Actor (Pradeep Ranganathan for Dragon)
- Best Actress (Simran for Tourist Family)
- Best Director (Ashwath Marimuthu for Dragon)
- Best Actress Critics (Bhagyashri Borse for Kaantha)
- Best Debut Actor (LK Akshay Kumar for Sirai)
- Best Debut Actress (Kayadu Lohar for Dragon)
- Best Actor in Negative Role (Arjun Das for Good Bad Ugly)
- Best Supporting Actor (Samuthirakani for Kaantha)
- Best Supporting Actress (Swasika for Maaman)
- Best Cinematographer (Ravi K Chandran for Thug Life)
- Best Music Composer (Sai Abhyankkar for Dude)
- Best Lyricist (Sarathi for Sirai)
- Best Singer Male (Vijay Yesudas for Tourist Family)
- Best Singer Female (Subhlahsini for Coolie)
With Tourist Family collecting 6 awards, and Dhruv Vikram receiving recognition for Bison, the night celebrated two different Tamil films and the performances and teams that brought their stories to the screen.
