Hindi cinema, widely referred to as Bollywood, is the largest and most powerful branch of the Indian film industry. It is India’s largest film producer that represents over 40% of the country’s net box office revenue. To honor excellence in the Hindi language film industry, The Times Group presents the Filmfare Awards.
The Times Group is the largest media conglomerate in India. Its subsidiary, Worldwide Media, regularly publishes the screen magazine Filmfare that focuses on Hindi-language cinema. Filmfare launched the Filmfare Awards in 1954, the same year as the National Film Awards were introduced by the Government of India. They were initially referred to as the Clare Awards after the film critic and magazine editor Clare Mendonca.
The inaugural Filmfare Awards ceremony was held on March 21, 1954 at the Metro Cinema in Mumbai. Trophies were presented to the winners of the popular vote in five categories: Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Music Director. The first movie to win the Filmfare Award for Best Film was Do Bigha Zamin directed by Bimal Roy.
Since 1956, winners have been chosen by a dual voting system. In contrast to the National Film Awards, which are decided on by a government-appointed national panel, the Filmfare Awards are voted on by a committee of experts and the general public. Besides, there are several awards presented by a panel of film critics, as well as a number of special awards such as the Lifetime Achievement Award and the R.D. Burnam Award for New Music Talent.
As of 2017, films that have won the most Filmfare Awards include Black by Sanjay Leela Bhansali (11 awards), Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge by Aditya Chopra (10 awards) and Devdas by Sanjay Leela Bhansali (10 awards).
The Filmfare trophy is a statuette depicting a woman dancing with her hands up in the air and her fingers touching. It is commonly referred to as “The Lady in Black” or “The Black Lady” due to its color. The statuette is generally made of bronze, but the trophies at the 25th Filmfare Awards were made of silver, and to celebrate the 50th anniversary the trophies were made of gold.
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