Following the footsteps of their Bollywood counterparts, south Indian film personalities are all set to celebrate 100 years of Indian cinema with a four-day grand event to be held from 21-24 September in Chennai.

The who's who of South Indian film industries - Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada - including actors, actresses, directors and technicians, big personalities from Bollywood and several political leaders are expected to grace the gala event.

It was earlier reported that the event would be held between 1 and 3 September but was postponed by a few weeks.

Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa has reportedly agreed to preside over the first-day of the event (21 Sep) to be held at Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, Chennai. President of India Pranab Mukherjee, Tamil Nadu Governor Rossaiha, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy are also likely to attend the event. 

Kannada and Telugu film industries will celebrate 100 years of Indian cinema on 22 September, while Malayalam industry will celebrate on 23 September. The final day event (24 September) will witness prominent personalities from all four south Indian film industries and Bollywood. Big names in Indian cinema like Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Mammootty, Shivraj Kumar, Ambareesh, Nagarjuna, Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan are expected to grace the event, which will have scintillating performances by some of the biggest stars of south India cinema. 

"Shah Rukh and Amitabh-ji are on our guest list. We have requested them to lend their support in our celebration. We are hoping that they will take out time and join us," C. Kalyan, president of The South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce (SIFCC), told Indo-Asian News Service in July.

Interestingly, actor Ajith, who avoids attending such events, will make an exception this time and attend the event.