The Filmfare Awards honour artistic and technical excellence in Hindi cinema. They are organised by Filmfare, which is part of The Times Group.
How it began
The awards were introduced in 1954, and the first ceremony took place on 21 March 1954 at the Metro Theatre in Mumbai. In the early years they were called the Clares, after Clare Mendonca, then editor of The Times of India.
The Black Lady trophy
The trophy is nicknamed “The Black Lady” and shows a woman with her arms raised in a dance pose. It was designed by N.G. Pansare under the supervision of Walter Langhammer, art director of The Times of India. It is generally bronze, about 46.5 cm tall and weighs around 5 kg.
Main categories
- Best Film, Director, Actor, Actress and Music Director have been given since 1954.
- Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress began in 1955.
- Lyricist and playback singer awards began in 1959.
- Technical awards include Story, Screenplay, Cinematography and Editing.
- The Lifetime Achievement Award has been given since 1991.
Other editions
Besides the main Hindi awards, there are Filmfare Awards South for South Indian cinema and editions for Marathi, Bangla and Punjabi films. Filmfare also runs OTT Awards for web series (since 2020) and Short Film Awards (since 2017).
Source: Wikipedia. Image: clapperboard, licensed via Wikimedia Commons.
