Dadasaheb Phalke Award is the highest-ranked award in Indian cinema. This award is presented annually at the National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals.
The Directorate of Film Festivals is an organisation set up by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
The recipient is honoured for “outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema”. The winner is selected by a committee consisting of eminent personalities from the Indian film industry.
As of 2017, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award comprises a Swarna Kamal (Golden Lotus) medallion, a shawl, and a cash prize of ₹1,000,000 (US$14,000).
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Who Was Dadasaheb Phalke?
Dadasaheb Phalke Award was first presented in 1969. The award was introduced by the Government of India to commemorate Dadasaheb Phalke’s contribution to Indian cinema.
Dadasaheb Phalke was born in 1870 in a Brahmin Chitpavan family. He was born to Govind Sadashiv Phalke and Dwarkabai Phalke.
Govind Sadashiv Phalke was a Sanskrit scholar and worked as a Hindu priest while Dwarkabai Phalke was a housewife.
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He started his work in the name of “Shri Phalke’s Engraving and Photo Printing”. The press majorly worked for making photo-litho transfers for Ravi Verma Press, owned by painter Raja Ravi Varma.
Later, it also started the work of halftone blockmaking and printing and Tri-colour printing.
After quitting “Laxmi Art Printing Works”, Phalke received multiple offers from various financiers to start another printing press, but he did not accept any offers.
On 14 April 1911, Phalke with his elder son Bhalchandra went to see a film, Amazing Animals, at the America India Picture Palace, Girgaon, Bombay.
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For the next year, Phalke started collecting various film-related materials like catalogues, books, and movie-making equipment from Europe.
He bought a small film camera and reels and started showing movies at night, by focusing candlelight on a lens and projecting the pictures on the wall.
In London, Phalke saw a nameboard of “Bioscope Cine-Weekly” near Piccadilly Circus. He was a subscriber of the Weekly in India. He met its editor, Mr. Kepburn, and explained the purpose of his visit.
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First Movie of Dadasaheb Phalke
After coming back from London, Phalke started looking for a spacious place to shoot films. Soon, the family shifted from the Ismail Building, Charni Road to Mathura Bhavan Bungalow, Dadar.
He constructed a small glass room at the compound of the bungalow and prepared a dark room and arrangements for processing the film.
Imported filmmaking equipment reached Bombay in May 1912 and Phalke set it up within four days with the help of sketch provided. He also taught his family to perforate and develop the film.
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To test the working of the camera and projector, Phalke filmed the boys and girls in the surroundings with satisfactory results.
To demonstrate the filmmaking techniques and get a financier for the feature film, Phalke decided to make a short film. He planted some peas in a pot and placed a camera in front of it.
He shot one frame a day for over a month producing a film of just over one minute which showed a seed growing, sprouting, and changing into a climber.
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This short film was titled Ankurachi Wadh (Growth of a Pea Plant) and was shown to selective individuals. Some of them, including Yashwantrao Nadkarni and Narayanrao Devhare, offered Phalke a loan to produce cinema.
Phalke decided to make a film based on the legends of Harishchandra. He started writing a script for it. He published advertisements in various newspapers like Induprakash to get a cast and crew for the film.
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As no women were available to play female leads, male actors performed the female roles.
Dattatraya Damodar Dabke played the lead role of King Harishchandra and Anna Salunke as Queen Taramati. Phalke’s elder son Bhalchandra was assigned the role of Rohitashva, son of Harishchandra and Taramati.
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Phalke handled script, direction, production design, make-up, editing, and film processing. Trymbak B. Telang handled the camera. The filming was completed in six months and 27 days to produce a film of 3,700 feet (1,100 m), about four reels.
The film premiered at the Olympia Theatre, Bombay on 21 April 1913, and had its theatrical release on Saturday, 3 May 1913 at the Coronation Cinema, Girgaon, Bombay.
It was a commercial success and laid the foundation for the film industry in India. The film is considered the first full-length Indian feature film.
But the same is debated as historians consider Dadasaheb Torne’s silent film Shree Pundalik, released on 18 May 1912, as the maiden Indian film. The Government of India recognises Raja Harishchandra as the first Indian feature film.
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After the success of Raja Harishchandra, Phalke relocated to Nashik. His film was a mythological love story of Nala, a king of Nishadha Kingdom, and Damayanti, a princess of the Vidarbha Kingdom.
Despite completing the pre-production, the filming could not start, so he started working on Mohini Bhasmasur.
It was a film based on a mythological story of Mohini, a female avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu, and Bhasmasura, an asura (demon).
During the same time, a travelling drama company, Chittakarshak Natak Company, visited Nashik. Phalke requested its proprietor, Raghunathrao Gokhale, to allow two of their actresses to act in the film.
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Durgabai Kamat was cast as Parvati and her daughter Kamlabai Gokhale as Mohini and became the first woman to act in Indian cinema.
The film was 3,264 feet (995 m) long and was released on 2 January 1914 at the Olympia Theatre, Bombay.
He also released a short comedy film Pithache Panje (Paws of Flour) which was showcased as a “side attraction” with the film.
Phalke made his third film Satyavan Savitri based on the legends of Satyavan and Savitri. The film was 3,680 feet (1,120 m) long and was screened on 6 June 1914. Both films were commercially successful like Raja Harishchandra.
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Thus, with the successful release of the movie, he is often regarded as “the father of Indian cinema”.
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Dadasaheb Phalke Award Winners
The first recipient/winner of the award was actress Devika Rani, who was honoured at the 17th National Film Awards. As of 2018, there have been 50 awardees.
Among these awardees are actor Prithviraj Kapoor (1971) and actor Vinod Khanna (2017) are the only posthumous recipients.
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Kapoor’s actor-filmmaker son, Raj Kapoor, accepted the award on his behalf at the 19th National Film Awards in 1971. Raj Kapoor was given the award in 1987 at the 35th National Film Awards ceremony.
Bommireddy Narasimha Reddy (1974) and Bommireddy Nagi Reddy (1986), Raj Kapoor (1987) and Shashi Kapoor (2014), Lata Mangeshkar (1989) and Asha Bhosle (2000) and Baldev Raj Chopra (1998) and Yash Chopra (2001) are the siblings who have won the award.
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The most recent recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award is actor Amitabh Bachchan, who was honoured at the 66th National Film Awards ceremony in 2019.
In 2020 actor Rajinikanth was blessed with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award.
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Dadasaheb Phalke Award: FAQ
Who Won First Dadasaheb Phalke Award
The first recipient/winner of the award was actress Devika Rani.
How Many have won the Dadasaheb Phalke Awards
As of 2023, there have been 53 awardees.
When did Amitabh Bachchan get the Dadasaheb Phalke Awards?
Amitabh Bachchan was honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke award in 2019.
When did Rajinikanth get Dadasaheb Phalke Awards
In 2020 actor Rajinikanth was blessed with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award.
When the Dadasaheb Phalke Award Started First
Dadasaheb Phalke Award was first presented in 1969. The award was introduced by the Government of India to commemorate Dadasaheb Phalke’s contribution to Indian cinema.
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