<P> Filmfare Awards South is the South Indian segment of the annual Filmfare Awards, presented by The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the South Indian film industry . The Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, and Kannada actors perform their talents on the stage . They were introduced in 1954, around the films released in 1953 and Filmfare Awards initially recognizing the Hindi film industries . In 1964 awards were extended to Best Picture in Tamil, Telugu, Bengali and Marathi, around the films released in 1963 . The inclusion of Malayalam cinema in the awards came in 1967 while Kannada cinema was recognized in 1970 . Each industry is given its own set of creative awards in annual ceremonies that have predominantly been held in Chennai and Hyderabad . </P> <P> Unlike the National Film Awards, which are decided by a panel appointed by Government of India, the Filmfare Awards South are voted for by both the public and a committee of experts . The Filmfare Awards has been referred to as India's equivalent to the Academy Awards for its ostentatious ceremonies and media coverage, although the National Film Awards is more commonly given this distinction for its critical rigour and pan-Indian appeal . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Th> Superlative </Th> <Th> Artist </Th> <Th> Record </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Most individual wins </Td> <Td> Kamal Haasan, A.R. Rahman </Td> <Td> 17 awards </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Most individual nominations </Td> <Td> Shreya Ghoshal </Td> <Td> 41 nominations </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Most direction awards </Td> <Td> K. Balachander, K. Viswanath </Td> <Td> 8 awards </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Most music direction awards </Td> <Td> A.R. Rahman </Td> <Td> 17 awards </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Most acting awards - Male </Td> <Td> Kamal Haasan </Td> <Td> 16 awards </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Most acting awards - Female </Td> <Td> Lakshmi </Td> <Td> 7 awards </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Most playback singer awards - Male </Td> <Td> Karthik </Td> <Td> 6 awards </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Most playback singer awards - Female </Td> <Td> Shreya Ghoshal </Td> <Td> 9 awards </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Th> Superlative </Th> <Th> Artist </Th> <Th> Record </Th> </Tr>

Highest filmfare award winner actor in south india