| National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer | |
|---|---|
 The 2023 recipient:Shilpa Rao | |
| Awarded for | Best Vocal Performance by a Female Playback Singer |
| Sponsored by | National Film Development Corporation of India |
| Rewards |
|
| First award | 1968 |
| Final award | 2023 |
| Most recent winner | Shilpa Rao, "Chaleya" fromJawan |
| Highlights | |
| Most wins | K. S. Chithra (6) |
| Total awarded | 55 |
| First winner | P. Susheela |
TheNational Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer is an honour presented annually at theNational Film Awards of India since 1968 to a femaleplayback singer for the best renditions of songs from films within theIndian film industry. The National Film Awards were called the "State Awards for Films" when established in 1954. The State Awards instituted the "Best Female Playback Singer" category in 1968. Throughout the years, accounting for ties and repeat winners, theGovernment of India has presented a total of 55 Best Female Playback Singer awards to 33 different female playback singers.
Until 1974, winners of the National Film Award in this category received acommemorative plaque and certificate; since 1975, they have been awarded with a "Rajat Kamal" (silverlotus), certificate and a cash prize that amounted to₹50,000 (US$590) in2012, and₹2 lakh (US$2,400) in2022.[1] Although the Indian film industry produces films in more than 20languages and dialects,[2] the female playback singers who have received the 'Rajat Kamal' awards have recorded their renditions in nine major languages:Tamil (fifteen awards),Hindi (fifteen awards),Telugu (six awards),Marathi (six awards),Bengali (six awards),Malayalam (five awards),Kannada (one award),Assamese (one award) andKonkani (one award).
The first recipient wasP. Susheela, who was honoured at the16th National Film Awards in 1968 for her rendition from theTamil filmUyarntha Manithan. As of 2021, The female playback singer who won the most 'Rajat Kamal' awards isK. S. Chithra with six wins, followed byP. Susheela andShreya Ghoshal with five wins each.S. Janaki won the award four times. Two female playback singers —Lata Mangeshkar andVani Jairam have won it thrice, while three female playback singers —Asha Bhosle,Alka Yagnik andArati Ankalikar Tikekar have won it twice.Shreya Ghoshal won the award for her renditions in five different languages, followed byS. Janaki andK. S. Chithra, both of whom won for their renditions in three different languages.Sandhya Mukhopadhyay andShreya Ghoshal are the only recipients who received the award for two renditions from two different films in the same year, with Ghoshal being the only recipient who received the award for two renditions from two different films in two different languages.K. S. Chithra andRoopa Ganguly are the only recipients who received the award for two renditions from the same film in the same year.Vani Jairam andLata Mangeshkar are the only recipients who received the award for their various renditions in a single film in the same year. As of 2022,Uthara Unnikrishnan is the youngest recipient who received the award at the age of ten,[3] andNanjamma is the oldest recipient who received the award at the age of sixty-two.[4] The only siblings who have received the award areLata Mangeshkar andAsha Bhosle. No award was given in this category at the21st National Film Awards in 1973. The most recent recipient of the award isShilpa Rao who will be honoured at the71st National Film Awards for the song "Chaleya" from theHindi filmJawan.
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Year | Indicates the year in which the film wascensored by theCentral Board of Film Certification (CBFC) |
| † | Indicates a joint award for that year |
| ‡ | Indicates that the winner won the award for two renditions from the same or two different films in that year |
| ⸸ | Indicates that the winner won the award for various renditions in that year |
| Winners | Number of wins | Years |
|---|---|---|
| K. S. Chithra | 6 | 1985,1986,1988,1996,1997,2004 |
| P. Susheela | 5 | 1968,1971,1976,1982,1983 |
| Shreya Ghoshal | 2002,2005,2007,2008,2021 | |
| S. Janaki | 4 | 1977,1980,1984,1992 |
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