| Filmfare Awards | |
|---|---|
| Current:70th Filmfare Awards October 11, 2025 (2025-10-11) | |
 | |
| Awarded for | Excellence inBollywood |
| Country |  India |
| Presented by | Filmfare |
| First award | March 21, 1954; 71 years ago (1954-03-21) |
| Website | Filmfare |
| Television/radio coverage | |
| Network | Doordarshan (1987–1999) Sony Entertainment Television (2000–2017) Colors TV (2018–2023) Zee TV (2024—present) |
TheFilmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence inHindi cinema.[1] The ceremony is one of the most notable film events in India.[2] Filmfare Awards were first introduced byFilmfare ofThe Times Group in 1954, the same year as theNational Film Awards.[3] They were called the Clare Awards, or The Clares, afterClare Mendonça, the editor ofThe Times of India.
From 2001, a recorded and edited version of the awards ceremony was televised onSET a week or two after the ceremony has been held. Since2018, the ceremony has been televised onColors. Until 2023, the function was held in Mumbai except for year 2020 when the 65th Filmfare Awards event was held on 16 February 2020 at Sarusajai Stadium,Guwahati.[4] Until the mid-1990s, Filmfare Awards were the preeminent and most-recognised awards in Bollywood until several other awards sprouted up in Mumbai. This has resulted in poor viewership since the 2000s.[1][2][3][5]
In addition to the flagship event, Filmfare also has variants for regional Indian film industries, such asFilmfare Awards South forSouth Indian cinema;Filmfare Marathi Awards forMarathi cinema;Filmfare Awards Bangla forBengali cinema,Filmfare Awards Punjabi forPunjabi cinema;Filmfare OTT Awards forover-the-top content,Filmfare Short Film Awards forshort films; and Filmfare Glamour & Style Awards.[6]
The Filmfare awards were introduced in 1954.The Clares was the original name of the award ceremony, named afterThe Times of India criticClare Mendonca. Readers ofFilmfare were polled to decide the winners, and over 20,000 readers spread throughout India participated in the polls;trophies were given to winners of the popular vote. In the first awards function, held on 21 March 1954 at theMetro Theatre ofMumbai, only five awards were presented:Best Film,Best Director,Best Actor,Best Actress, andBest Music Director.
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Do Bigha Zameen was the first movie to win the award for Best Film. The first winners for the other four categories were:Bimal Roy for his direction ofDo Bigha Zameen,Dilip Kumar for his performance inDaag,Meena Kumari for her performance inBaiju Bawra, andNaushad Ali for his music inBaiju Bawra. The Filmfare Awards also introduced theShort Film Category in 2017, withVidya Balan andGauri Shinde on the jury.[7] The People's Choice Award for Best Short Film was presented toKhamakha. Short films likeChutney,Matitali Kusti andTaandav won awards as well.[8]
Hollywood starGregory Peck was invited to be the guest of honour at the first ever awards on 21 March 1954 at the Metro theatre, Mumbai but could not make it to the function since his flight from Colombo got delayed. However, Peck did attend the banquet that followed the award night at Wellington Club (Gymkhana), Mumbai.[9][10]
The winners for the year 1985 were announced in 1986 and the event was scheduled to be held at theBrabourne Stadium in December 1986. TheBombay Film Industry as it was known then, went on strike in 1986 because of its many contentious issues with theGovernment of Maharashtra. As a result, the ceremony was pushed to the next year. The winners of 1985 were awarded on 28 January 1987. For security reasons, the Filmfare was not awarded for 1986 and 1987.[11]
Thered carpet is a segment that takes place before the beginning of the actual ceremony. This is when actors, actresses, producers, directors, singers, composers, and others that have contributed to Indian cinema are introduced.[12] Hosts question the celebrities about upcoming performances and who they think deserves to take the Black Lady home.[13]
The58th Filmfare Awards honoured the best Hindi-language films of 2012 and were held on 20 January 2013 atYash Raj Studios,Andheri, Mumbai.[14] The ceremony was hosted byShah Rukh Khan andSaif Ali Khan.[15]
The theme for the 2013 ceremony was described as "a hundred years in the future", continuing from the previous year's celebration of one hundred years of Indian cinema.[16] The organisers also redesigned the iconic "Black Lady" trophy for the occasion, adding a gold-plated base to mark the centenary milestone.[17]
Among the major winners,Barfi! led the ceremony with twelve nominations and won seven awards, includingBest Film.Kahaani also earned several honours, includingBest Actress forVidya Balan.[18]
The 58th Filmfare Awards were notable for blending futuristic presentation with a retrospective celebration ofIndian cinema's century-long legacy.
Thestatuette, depicting a woman whose arms are upraised in a dance number with her fingers touching, is commonly referred to as "The Black Lady" (or "The Lady in Black"). Originally designed by N.G. Pansare under the supervision ofTimes of India's art director Walter Langhammer, it is generally made of bronze, its height is 46.5 cm and it weighs around 5 kg.[19] To celebrate the 25th year of the awards, the statues were made insilver and to celebrate the 50th year the statues were made ingold.[20] The Filmfare trophy has been manufactured by The Award Gallery since 2000.[21]
Until 2012, there had only been a few changes made to the trophy. But as of 2014, a huge change was made to give the trophy a 3-D look.[citation needed] There were two reasons given for this change. First, that the organisers believe that it was necessary to match the many advances in technology in today's world, which will advance a lot more in the coming years as well. This was also an attempt to match the theme of the 2013 set of awards at Filmfare in Mumbai: a hundred years leap into the future.[22]
In 2020, Filmfare startedFilmfare OTT Awards for the best in web series.[23]
Filmfare Awards for Punjabi-language film industry.
Filmfare Awards for Marathi-language film industry.
Filmfare Awards for Bengali-language film industry.
Filmfare Awards for South Indian film industries.
Filmfare Awards for East Indian film industries. Defunct and rebranded asFilmfare Awards Bangla.
Filmfare Awards for Bengali cinema.
Filmfare Awards for short films.
The Filmfare is equivalent to the Oscars for India.
| Merit awards | |
|---|---|
| Critics' awards | |
| Technical awards | |
| Special awards | |
| Award ceremonies | |
