In news: Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting announced the actor Shri Rajinikanth as the recipient of the 51st Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2019.
About the Dadasaheb Phalke Award
- To honour the Father of Indian Cinema, Dhundiraj Govind Phalke, the National Film Awards named the most prestigious and coveted award of Indian Cinema after him.
- He is the man who made the first Indian Feature film Raja Harishchandra in 1913.
- Popularly known as Dadasaheb Phalke, he then went on to make 95 films and 26 short films in a span of 19 years.
- The Dadasaheb Phalke Award was introduced in 1969 by the government to recognise the contribution of film personalities towards the development of Indian Cinema.
- The first recipient of this award was Devika Rani.
- It is presented annually at the National film Awards Ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals
- Dadasaheb Phalke Award is given to a film personality for his/her outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian Cinema.
- The award comprises a Swarna Kamal, a cash Prize of Rs. 10,00,000/- (Rupees Ten Lakhs)certificate,silk scroll and a shawl.
Most recent recipients
- Manoj Kumar(Hindi)-2015
- K. Vishwanath(Telugu)-2016
- Vinod Khanna(Hindi)-2017
- Amitabh Bachchan (Hindi)-2018
Directorate of Film Festivals
- It is an organisation set up by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
- It is an organisation that initiates and presents the International Film Festival of India, the National Film Awards and the Indian Panorama
- It was set up by the Government of India in 1973
- The Directorate is based in New Delhi
- The Directorate facilitates the participation of India in festivals abroad, and arranges for foreign film programmes to be held in the country.
Dadasaheb Phalke
- Dhundiraj Govind Phalke, popularly known as Dadasaheb Phalke, was an Indian producer-director-screenwriter, known as the Father of Indian cinema.
- His debut film, Raja Harishchandra, was the first Indian movie in 1913, and is now known as India’s first full-length feature film.
- He made 95 feature-length films and 27 short films in his career, spanning 19 years, until 1937
Source: Indian Express
