Dadasaheb Phalke Award

In India, there are plenty of awards which are given in different fields to eminent personalities for their contributions towards the development of various aspects. Although, the scope of such awards is possible in all kinds of activities, the creative industry, represented by Indian movie industry is supposed to be much talked about. Receiving awards for their work in entertainment and creativity is an honour for many people, more so, if this is recognised by the government of India. Indian movie industry is quite big with lots of money being spent on movies and even more being returned. Due to the movie watching masses of India, film industries have thrived successfully in Bollywood and other regional languages. South Indian film industry is also quite large with a large volume of movies made and huge viewership. From different aspects of film making, awardees are selected to be conferred the awards by the Indian Government.

Indian film industry has been entertaining people for more than a century now and it is apt that the industry has some awards from the government. National Film Awards are announced every year for various categories in movies. But, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award is given to the one person whose lifetime achievements have been quite significant in light of his or her contributions to Indian Cinema. Dadasaheb Phalke Award is given to a personality from Indian cinema for lifetime contribution by the Government of India. It is supposed to be the highest award in the country in film industry.

Beginning

Dadasaheb Phalke Award was first introduced in the year 1969, which was the birth centenary of the legend of Indian Cinema who brought laurels to the film fraternity. Dadasaheb Phalke is considered to be the father of Indian Cinema. It has been conferred on various eminent personalities from Indian Cinema for their contribution towards the growth of the cinema, its medium and exemplary promotion. This award is announced along with the National Film Awards towards the end of a particular year. The first award was given to Devika Rani.

Award

The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is presently given in the form of a Swarna Kamal or Golden Lotus, along with a sum of Rs 1 million and a shawl. In the earlier days, there was a gold medal, but the sum of money has been changing since its inception. In the initial 3 years, there was a plaque, a cash prize of Rs 11,000 and a shawl. Although, usually the Dadasaheb Phalke award is given during the lifetime of the awardee, in some cases, it has also been given posthumously like Prithviraj Kapoor. The last award was given in 2012 to the legendary actor of Hindi Cinema, Pran Sikhand, by the Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Mr Manish Tewari. Due to his ill health, he couldn’t attend the ceremony, but still received a standing ovation when his name was announced. In later days, he received the award in his home by the minister personally.

Selection of the person to receive the award is done by a committee which comprises of eminent personalities from the Indian film industry. This justifies the selection of the eminent personalities from the film industry, who has given his or her sacrifices for the greater good of the Indian cinema.

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