List Of Dadasaheb Phalke Award (1969-2024)

Last Updated: 25 February 2024

The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India’s highest award in cinema. It is presented annually at the National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals, an organization set up by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

The recipient is honored for their “Outstanding Contribution to the Growth and Development of Indian Cinema” and is selected by a committee consisting of eminent personalities from the Indian film industry. The award comprises a Swarna Kamal (Golden Lotus) medallion, a Shawl, and a Cash Prize of ₹1,000,000 (US$13,000).

Several other awards and film festivals have been named after Dadasaheb Phalke, sometimes leading to confusion. Such awards include the Dadasaheb Phalke Film Foundation Awards and the Dadasaheb Phalke Excellence Awards, which are unrelated to the award conferred by the Directorate of Film Festivals.

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Dadasaheb Phalke Award At A Glance

No.	Header	Details
1	Awarded For	Outstanding Contribution to the Growth and Development of Indian Cinema
2	Sponsorer	Directorate of Film Festivals
3	Reward(s)	1) Swarna Kamal (Golden Lotus) 2) Shawl 3) ₹1,000,000 (US$13,000)
4	First Awarded	1969
5	Last Awarded	2021
6	First Winner	Devika Rani
7	Recent Winner	Waheeda Rehman
8	Total Awarded	53
9	Website	www.dff.gov.in/PhalkeAward

Facts About Dadasaheb Phalke Award

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.

Phalke (1870–1944) often regarded as “The Father of Indian Cinema”, was an Indian filmmaker who directed India’s first full-length feature film, Raja Harishchandra (1913).

The first recipient of the award was actress Devika Rani, who was honored at the 17^th National Film Awards.

As of 2022, there have been 52 awardees. Among those, Actor Prithviraj Kapoor (1971) and Actor Vinod Khanna (2017) are the only posthumous recipients.

Prithviraj Kapoor’s actor-filmmaker son, Raj Kapoor, accepted the award on his behalf at the 19^th National Film Awards in 1971 and was also a recipient in 1987 at the 35^th National Film Awards ceremony.

Dadasaheb Phalke Award

No.	Year	Recipient	Film Industry	Notes
1	1969	Devika Rani	Hindi	1) Widely acknowledged as the first lady of Indian Cinema. 2) She debuted in Karma (1933). It was the first Indian English-language film and the first Indian film to feature an on-screen kiss.
2	1970	Birendranath Sircar	Bengali	1) The founder of two production companies; International Filmcraft and New Theatres. 2) He built two cinema theatres in Calcutta, one for screening Bengali films and one for Hindi films.
3	1971	Prithviraj Kapoor	Hindi	Kapoor began his acting career in theatres and starred in India’s first sound film, Alam Ara (1931).
4	1972	Pankaj Mullick	Bengali Hindi	He is best known for Mahishasuramardini, a radio musical composed in 1931.
5	1973	Ruby Myers (Sulochana)	Hindi	1) One of the highest-paid actresses of her time. 2) Sulochana made her debut with Veer Bala (1925).
6	1974	B. N. Reddy	Telugu	1) The director of fifteen feature films in Telugu. 2) Reddy was the first person to receive the Padma Bhushan.
7	1975	Dhirendra Nath Ganguly	Bengali	1) Ganguly debuted as an actor in Bilat Ferat (1921). 2) He established three production companies: → Indo-British Film Company (1918) → Lotus Film Company (1922) → British Dominion Films Studio (1929)
8	1976	Kanan Devi	Bengali	1) Acknowledged as the first lady of Bengali cinema. 2) Kanan Devi made her acting debut in silent films in the 1920s.
9	1977	Nitin Bose	Bengali Hindi	Bose is noted for introducing playback singing to Indian cinema in 1935 through his Bengali film Bhagya Chakra and its Hindi remake Dhoop Chhaon.
10	1978	Raichand Boral	Bengali Hindi	Boral was a music director who, in collaboration with director Nitin Bose, introduced the system of playback singing in Indian cinema.
11	1979	Sohrab Modi	Hindi	Modi is credited with bringing Shakespearean classics to Indian cinema.
12	1980	Paidi Jairaj	Hindi	Jairaj is known for his portrayal of Indian historical characters.
13	1981	Naushad	Hindi	1) Naushad debuted with Prem Nagar (1940). 2) He is credited to introduce the technique of sound mixing to Indian cinema.
14	1982	L. V. Prasad	Telugu Tamil Hindi	1) L. V. Prasad has the distinction of acting in the first talkie films produced in three languages: → Hindi: Alam Ara → Tamil: Kalidas → Telugu: Bhakta Prahlada 2) Prasad Studios has produced over 150 films in various Indian languages.
15	1983	Durga Khote	Hindi Marathi	She set up two production companies, Fact Films, and Durga Khote Productions, which produced short films and documentaries.
16	1984	Satyajit Ray	Bengali	Filmmaker Ray is credited with bringing world recognition to Indian cinema.
17	1985	V. Shantaram	Hindi Marathi	1) V. Shantaram produced and directed India’s first color film, Sairandhri (1931). 2) He produced and directed the first Marathi-language talkie, Ayodhyecha Raja (1932).
18	1986	B. Nagi Reddy	Telugu	1) Reddy produced more than 50 films, beginning in the 1950s. 2) He established Vijaya Vauhini Studios, the biggest film studio in Asia at that time.
19	1987	Raj Kapoor	Hindi	Raj Kapoor’s performance in the Hindi film Awara (1951) was ranked as one of the top ten greatest performances of all time by Time magazine in 2010.
20	1988	Ashok Kumar	Hindi	Kumar is noted for his roles in Achhut Kannya (1936), Bandhan (1940), and Kismet (1943), the first blockbuster in Indian cinema.
21	1989	Lata Mangeshkar	Hindi Marathi	1) Widely credited as the Nightingale of India. 2) Mangeshkar started her career in 1942 and has sung songs in over 36 languages.
22	1990	Akkineni Nageswara Rao	Telugu	Akkineni Nageswara Rao acted in more than 250 films, mostly in the Telugu language.
23	1991	Bhalji Pendharkar	Marathi	Pendharkar started his career in the 1920s and produced more than 60 Marathi films and eight Hindi films.
24	1992	Bhupen Hazarika	Assamese	Hazarika is best known for his folk songs and ballads sung in the Assamese language.
25	1993	Majrooh Sultanpuri	Hindi	Sultanpuri penned his first Hindi song for Shahjehan (1946) and wrote around 8000 songs for over 350 Hindi films.
26	1994	Dilip Kumar	Hindi	Dilip Kumar acted in more than 60 Hindi films in a career that spanned over six decades.
27	1995	Rajkumar	Kannada	Rajkumar acted in more than 200 Kannada-language films & won a National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer in 1992.
28	1996	Sivaji Ganesan	Tamil	Ganesan was the first Indian film actor to win a “Best Actor” award in an International film festival, the Afro-Asian Film Festival held in Cairo, Egypt in 1960.
29	1997	Kavi Pradeep	Hindi	1) Best known for the patriotic song “Aye Mere Watan Ke Logo”. 2) Pradeep wrote around 1700 songs, hymns, and fiery nationalistic poems, including the lyrics for more than 80 Hindi films.
30	1998	B. R. Chopra	Hindi	B. R. Chopra established his own production house B. R. Films in 1956.
31	1999	Hrishikesh Mukherjee	Hindi	Mukherjee is credited with popularising “Middle of the Road Cinema” through films like Anuradha (1960), Anand (1971), and Gol Maal (1979).
32	2000	Asha Bhosle	Hindi Marathi	1) A playback singer of “Extraordinary Range & Versatility”. 2) Bhosle began her singing career in 1943.
33	2001	Yash Chopra	Hindi	Yash Chopra is the founder of Yash Raj Films.
34	2002	Dev Anand	Hindi	Anand co-founded Navketan Films in 1949 and produced 35 films.
35	2003	Mrinal Sen	Bengali Hindi	Sen debuted as a director with Raat Bhore (1955) and made 27 films in 50 years.
36	2004	Adoor Gopalakrishnan	Malayalam	Gopalakrishnan won the National Film Award for Best Direction for his debut film, Swayamvaram (1972).
37	2005	Shyam Benegal	Hindi	1) He directed his first feature film “Ankur” in 1973. 2) His films have focused on women and their rights.
38	2006	Tapan Sinha	Bengali Hindi	Sinha debuted as a director in 1954 and made more than 40 feature films in the Bengali, Hindi, and Oriya languages.
39	2007	Manna Dey	Bengali Hindi	Manna Dey has sung over 3500 songs in various Indian languages.
40	2008	V. K. Murthy	Hindi	Murthy shot India’s first cinemascope film, Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959).
41	2009	D. Ramanaidu	Telugu	1) Naushad debuted with Prem Nagar (1940). 2) He is credited with introducing the technique of sound mixing to Indian cinema.
42	2010	K. Balachander	Tamil Telugu	In a career that spanned over forty years, he directed and produced over 100 films in various Indian languages.
43	2011	Soumitra Chatterjee	Bengali	In 1999, he became the first Indian film personality to be conferred with Commandeur at the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, France’s highest award for artists.
44	2012	Pran	Hindi	Pran mainly played villainous characters in Hindi films during a career spanning over 50 years.
45	2013	Gulzar	Hindi	Gulzar is Known for his successful collaboration with music directors like R. D. Burman and A. R. Rahman.
46	2014	Shashi Kapoor	Hindi	Winner of two National Film Awards.
47	2015	Manoj Kumar	Hindi	Kumar is fondly called “Bharat Kumar”.
48	2016	K. Vishwanath	Telugu	1) Vishwanath has directed 53 feature films in a variety of genres, including films based on performing arts, visual arts, and aesthetics. 2) Vishwanath has earned five National Film Awards and has received international recognition for his works.
49	2017	Vinod Khanna	Hindi	He took a brief break from films (1982–1987) and entered politics in 1997.
50	2018	Amitabh Bachchan	Hindi	1) Bachchan is often primarily known for his unique baritone voice and his excellence in acting. 2) He has appeared in over 200 Indian films in a career spanning more than five decades.
51	2019	Rajinikanth	Tamil	1) Rajinikanth works primarily in Tamil cinema where he is fondly referred to as a superstar. 2) He was honored with the Padma Bhushan (2000) and the Padma Vibhushan (2016) by the Government of India.
52	2020	Asha Parekh	Hindi	1) Asha Parekh is an Indian actress who works primarily in Hindi cinema where she is fondly called The Hit Girl. 2) She was honored with the Padma Shri (1992) by the Government of India.
53	2021	Waheeda Rehman	Hindi	1) Waheeda Rehman has featured in the films Pyaasa (1957), Guide (1965), Khamoshi (1969), Phagun (1973), Kabhi Kabhie (1976), Chandni (1989), Lamhe (1991), Rang De Basanti (2006), and Delhi 6 (2009). 2) She was conferred with the Padma Shri in 1972 and Padma Bhushan in 2011 by the Government of India.