| 20th Filmfare Awards | |
|---|---|
| Date | 21 April 1973[1] |
| Site | Bombay |
| Highlights | |
| Best Film | Be-Imaan |
| Best Actor | Manoj Kumar forBe-Imaan |
| Best Actress | Hema Malini forSeeta Aur Geeta |
| Most awards | Be-Imaan (7) |
| Most nominations | Amar Prem &Be-Imaan (8) |
The20th Filmfare Awards were held in 1973, awarding the films made in 1972.
Amar Prem andBe-Imaan led the ceremony with 8 nominations, followed byShor with 7 nominations andPakeezah with 5 nominations.
Be-Imaan won 7 awards, includingBest Film,Best Director (for Sohanlal Kanwar),Best Actor (forManoj Kumar) andBest Supporting Actor (forPran), thus becoming the most-awarded film at the ceremony.
Rajesh Khanna received dual nominations for Best Actor for his performances inAmar Prem andDushmun, but lost to Manoj Kumar who won the award forBe-Imaan.
At the ceremony,Meena Kumari earned a then record-setting twelfth and final nomination for theFilmfare Award for Best Actress for her performance in the period musical romantic dramaPakeezah after her death in March 1972. Despite being highly favored to win the award, she controversially lost the award toHema Malini who won her first and only award in the category for her comic dual role in the comedy-dramaSeeta Aur Geeta.
Pran, who won Best Supporting Actor forBe-Imaan refused to accept the award, on the grounds that theBest Music Director award should have gone toGhulam Mohammed forPakeezah, and notShankar-Jaikishan forBe-Imaan.
Sohanlal Kanwar –Be-Imaan
Zeenat Aman –Hare Rama Hare Krishna
Amar Prem –Arabinda Mukhopadhyay
Amar Prem – Ramesh Pant
Be-Imaan –Verma Malik for Jai Bolo Be-Imaan Ki
Be-Imaan –Mukesh for Jai Bolo Be-Imaan Ki
Hare Rama Hare Krishna –Asha Bhosle for Dum Maro Dum
Nine Months to Freedom
Meena Kumari not winning an award for her performance inPakeezah stirred controversy at the 20th Filmfare Awards. Filmfare, however, defended their decision by stating that according to their rules, posthumous awards were not allowed then;[3]Filmfare's editorB. K. Karanjia said bothGhulam Mohammad (the music director ofPakeezah) andJosef Wirsching (cinematographer) lost for the same reason.[4]
Years later, in an interview, veteran actressRakhee Gulzar revealed that initially she was offered the award for Best actress which she declined, as she considered her performance to be mediocre as earlier, she was devoid of the award for her performance inSharmilee.[5]
| Merit awards | |
|---|---|
| Critics' awards | |
| Technical awards | |
| Special awards | |
| Award ceremonies | |
