Dadasaheb Phalke Award | 29 Sep 2022
Why in News?
Recently, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has announced that the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2020 will be accorded to legendary actress Ms Asha Parekh. The award will be presented at the 68th National Film Award ceremony in New Delhi.
- Previous recipients of the awards were Rajnikant (2019) and Amitabh Bachhan (2018).
What do we Know about Dadasaheb Phalke Award?
- About:
- The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is part of the National Film Awards, a highly coveted collection of honours in the film industry. The Award is named after Dhundiraj Govind Phalke, the pioneering filmmaker who gave India its first film– ‘Raja Harishchandra’, in 1913.
- The award is considered the highest honour in the Indian film fraternity. It is awarded for “its outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema.
- Overview:
- The award was instituted by the government in 1969, and consists of a ‘Swarna Kamal’, a cash prize of INR 10 lakh, a certificate, a silk roll, and a shawl.
- The award is presented by the President of India in the presence of the Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting, the Chairpersons of the juries, the representatives of the Film Federation of India, and the Confederation of All India Cine Employees among senior officials.
- The first recipient of the award was Devika Rani Roerich in 1969.
Who was Dhundiraj Govind ‘Dadasaheb’ Phalke?
- He was born in 1870 at Trimbak in Maharashtra. He studied engineering and sculpture and developed an interest in motion pictures after watching the 1906 silent film The Life of Christ.
- Before venturing into films, Phalke worked as a photographer, owned a printing press, and even worked with the famed painter Raja Ravi Varma.
- In 1913, Phalke wrote, produced, and directed India’s first feature film, the silent Raja Harishchandra. As a result of its commercial success, Phalke went on to make 95 more films and 26 short films in the next 19 years.
- He is known as “Father of Indian Cinema”.