Who was Dadasaheb Phalke?

The Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Awards was recently presented.  They are also referred to as “Dadasaheb Phalke Awards”. These awards were introduced by Government of India in 1969.

2021 Awards

• Best Actor (Female): Deepika Padukone
• Best Actor (Male): Akshay Kumar
• Best International Feature Film: Parasite
• Best Director: Anurag Basu
• Best Film: Tanhaji

The late actor Sushant Singh Rajput won the “Critics Best Actor”. Actor Rajni Kanth is also being conferred with the award this year. He had already received Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan. He has spent more than forty five years in the film industry.

Dadasaheb Phalke

• Dadasaheb Phalke is the Father of Indian Cinema.
• The first film made by Phalke was Raja Harishchandra and this movie was the first full-length feature film of India.
• He has made twenty-seven short films and 95 feature length films during his career.
• In 2021, his 151^st birth anniversary is being celebrated.
• The Government of India confers the “Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Awards” every year in his honour.

Dadasaheb Awards

It was presented for the first time in 1969. The first recipient of the award was actress Devika Rani. It carries a prize money of ten lakh rupees and a Golden Lotus.

The award is often confused with other awards presented in his name such as Dadasaheb Phalke Film Foundation awards, Dadasaheb Phalke Excellence Awards. However, the Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Awards are the only awards presented by the Indian Government to the achievers in the film industry. These awards are presented by the Directorate of Film Festivals that operates under Information and Broadcasting Ministry. The Directorate should make sufficient rules to avoid the use of the legend’s name to prevent replications.

Month: Current Affairs - May, 2021