New York based actress, Shetal Shah, was also present. Nominated for Best Actress alongside Parminder Nagra of 'ER' and 'Bend It Like Beckham' fame, Shetal took home the award for her jaw-dropping portrayal of the villianess Maya in the intriguing and innovative psychological thriller, 'Arya'. Other nominees included Sheetal Sheth (ABCD, American Chai) and Pooja Kumar (Flavors, Night of Henna). 'Arya', written and directed by Manan Singh Katohora enjoyed its official worldwide launch release on Tuesday, May 24, 2005. A native New Yorker, Shetal Shah has been acting since 2002. ARYA is her first feature film.

Taking home the SAMA in their categories were:

BEST SOUTH ASIAN PROMOTER/GROUP - All Star Entertainment
ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR - Vikram Chatwal
OUTSTANDING NEWS PUBLICATION OF THE YEAR - India Abroad
FAVORITE TELEVISION PERSONALITY - Aashna Patel
RECOGNITION IN THEATRE/PRODUCTION - Geeta Citygirl
BEST ACTRESS - Shetal Shah
OUTSTANDING POLITICAL LEADERSHIP - Bobby Jindal
OUSTANDING CONTEMPORARY MUSICAL GROUP/ARTIST - Raghav
DEEJAY OF THE YEAR - DJ Rekha
OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR IN A FILM - Mira Nair
NOTEWORTHY JOURNALIST - Hari Sreenivasan
OUTSTANDING COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION/INDIVIDUAL - Sakhi
BEST ACTOR - Kal Penn
SOUTH ASIAN LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR - Anokhi Vibe
MODEL OF THE YEAR - Saira Mohan
FAVORITE SOUTH ASIAN COMEDIAN - Russell Peters
FAVORITE RADIO PERSONALITY - Ashish Patel
FAVORITE FASHION DESIGNER - Anand Jon

Saroosh Gull, founder of the South Asian Media Awards and CEO of DesiClub.com bestowed the honor of Lifetime Achievement Award on Mr. Kamal Dandona, Chairman of The Bollywood Group, which handles the Bollywood Movie, Fashion and Music Awards annually. Said Mr. Gull, "We are honored to have Mr. Dandona amongst us to mark this inaugural event."

There were performances from Tina Sugandh, Kidd Skilly, Sumeet and Bikram Singh and Raghav.