Kochi, 25th Nov:  The first ever city awards for Kochi, WtzupKochi City Awards presented by Autotree and powered by Renault in association with Crowne Plaza and Lulu Connect took place at Crowne Plaza on November 25th, 2015 with a star studded guest list coming together to celebrate Kochi and its many talents. The city awards is the first of its kind for Kochi and it was a venture to identify Kochi’s favorite spots and show off the best the city has to offer. The categories varied from favorite food joints, to shopping outlets and talents. The grand evening was graced with a fantastic audience who revelled in the one of a kind event. District Collector M.G Rajamanickam, IAS, along with Major Ravi, Beena Kannan, Sheela Kochouseph and Vijay Yesudas shared their perspectives on how Kochi is an uprising city and how WtzupKochi City Awards is a positive concept to celebrate Kochi.  The first ever city awards was a grand success and it was attended by many celebrities like Tovino Thomas, Unni Mukundan, Sunny Wayne, Ranjini Jose, Nikhil Menon, Ranjith Sankar, Mamas, Shritha Sivadas, Rejith Menon and Sanju among others who added to the glamor of the event. All the twenty winners including Dulquer Salmaan, Poornima Indrajith and Parvathy were awarded at this exciting and heartwarming event, accompanied by toe tapping numbers from the band, Vidwan led by Neha Nair. The first ever WtzupKochi City Awards was a time for celebration and appreciation, but the biggest winner of all was Kochi.

The list of award winners included some of the most illustrious names in Kochi. Nishad N.P., Nashid N.P. and Abdul Nazar N.P. accepted the award for Nucleus Properties as Kochi’s Favorite Builder. The Kochi’s Favorite Cafe award went to Tonico Cafe, a buzzing hub in Kakkanad by Josco Group, and the award was accepted by the owner and MD of Josco Group, Mr. Tony Jose. Also present at the event was Poornima Indrajith, the founder of Pranaah who won the award for Kochi’s favorite boutique. Adding to the star quotient was actress Parvathy(‘Ennu ninte Moideen’ fame), who accepted the award for Favorite Actress. Dulquer Salmaan shared his love and gratitude for Kochi in selecting him as the Favorite Actor. The Lulu Hypermarket, that has indeed changed the way Kochiites shopped, was awarded the Kochi’s Favorite Shopping Destination and Sudheesh Nair, GM of Lulu Hypermarket, received the award.

The winners expressed their joy to have been voted by Kochiites,and  to know that their work was being appreciated. When the award for Favorite Street Food Joint was received by Mr. Nissar from Adipoli Thattukada, he mentioned that he had been in the profession for twenty five years and getting this award was indeed momentous. Poornima Indrajith surprised everyone  as she received the award for her brand Pranaah (Kochi’s Favorite Boutique), when she paid homage to Beena Kannan, sharing anecdotes about her modeling days with Seematti and how the Seematti CEO and lead designer was her role model. The organizers surprised Poornima Indrajith with a birthday cake and she was joined onstage by Beena Kannan, Parvathy and Vijay Yesudas.

The voting process of WtzupKochi City Awards was open to all, and over 60,000 Kochiites registered to choose their favorites. In a dazzling battle for the top position in twenty categories, nominees went head to head since September, 2015 to be chosen as Kochi’s Favorite through the WtzupCity.com website and mobile app. Two lucky voters, Roban Gilbert and Shalin Sebastian, won flight tickets to UAE and received the tickets from Anil Vijayan, manager South India Air Arabia. The first ever WtzupKochi City Awards presented by Autotree and powered by Renault in association with Crowne Plaza and Lulu Connect,  sets a milestone in Kochi’s progress and was a grand event that paid tribute to the talents in the city. The sponsors of the event were Lulu Mall, Red FM, Indian Express, Media Box Office, Time Ads, One TV, Air Arabia and FWD Life. The annual awards will continue with the support it has garnered to keep celebrating the best of Kochi.