Why in News?
- Recently, it was announced that Amitabh Bachchan will be awarded the prestigious ‘Dadasaheb Phalke Award’.
- Amitabh Bachchan is the 50th recipient of the award.
- Last year, it was given posthumously to the legendary late actor ‘Vinod Khanna’.
Who was Dadasaheb Phalke?
- ‘Dhundiraj Govind Phalke’ is the pioneering filmmaker who gave India its first film, ‘Raja Harishchandra’, in 1913.
- The Award is named after him and it is the Indian cinema’s highest honour.
- He was born in 1870 at Trimbak in Maharashtra, Phalke was drawn towards creative arts since childhood.
- Before venturing into films, Phalke worked as a photographer, and had 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’.
- A commercial success, it propelled Phalke to make 95 more films and 26 short films in the next 19 years.
- Phalke’s fortunes dwindled with the arrival of sound in cinema, and he died in 1944 at Nashik after retiring from films.
What is the Dadasaheb Phalke Award?
- The Award is a part of the ‘National Film Awards’, themselves a highly coveted collection of honours in the film industry.
- It is awarded for “outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema”.
- It is presented annually by the ‘Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’.
- The award was instituted by the government in 1969.
- The first recipient of the award was Devika Rani Roerich in 1969.
- It consists of a ‘Swarna Kamal’ (Golden Lotus), a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh, a certificate, a silk roll, and a shawl.
- The award is presented by the President of India in the presence of Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting and others.
Source: The Indian Express, The Business Standard