Claim: Since 2006, the Vijay Award for Contribution to Tamil Cinema has been awarded to nine people and groups in the Tamil film industry, including Sivakumar, AVM Saravanan, and Balu Mahendra.
Evidence: 2006 Saroja Devi 2007 Film News Anandan 2008 Sathyam Cinemas 2009 The Stunt Union 2010 Mugur Sundar 2012 Bharathiraja 2013 Balu Mahendra 2014 AVM Saravanan 2017 Sivakumar