The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India's highest award in the field of cinema. It is presented annually at the National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals, an organisation set up by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The recipient is honoured for their "great and outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema" and is selected by a committee consisting of eminent personalities from the Indian film industry. The award comprises a Swarna Kamal medallion, a shawl, and a cash prize of ₹1,000,000 (US$13,000).
Baldev Raj Chopra was a prolific Indian director and producer noted for pioneering the Bollywood industry and television series. He's known for directing notable films, such as Afsana, Ek Hi Raasta, Naya Daur, Sadhna, Kanoon, Gumrah, Hamraaz, Dhund, Pati Patni Aur Woh, Insaf Ka Tarazu and Nikaah. He also produced hit films, including Dhool Ka Phool, Waqt, Ittefaq, Aadmi Aur Insaan, Chhoti Si Baat, The Burning Train, Aaj Ki Awaaz, Baghban and the TV series, Mahabharat. He was awarded Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India's highest award in cinema, for the year 1998, and Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian award, in 2001.
Dhundiraj Govind Phalke, popularly known as Dadasaheb Phalke, was an Indian producer-director-screenwriter, known as "the Father of Indian cinema".
Durga Khote was an Indian actress, beginning as one of the foremost leading ladies of her time. She remained active in Hindi and Marathi cinema, as well as theatre, for over 50 years, starring in around 200 films and numerous theatre productions.
Shantaram Rajaram Vankudre, referred to as V. Shantaram or Shantaram Bapu, was an Indian filmmaker, film producer, and actor known for his work in Hindi and Marathi films. He is most known for films such as Dr. Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani (1946), Amar Bhoopali (1951), Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje (1955), Do Aankhen Barah Haath (1957), Navrang (1959), Duniya Na Mane (1937), Pinjara (1972), Chani, Iye Marathiche Nagari and Zunj.
Ruby Myers, better known by her stage name Sulochana, was an Indian silent film actress of Jewish ancestry, from the community of Baghdadi Jews in India.
Khan Bahadur Ardeshir Irani was a writer, director, producer, actor, film distributor, film showman and cinematographer in the silent and sound eras of early Indian cinema. He is considered one of the greatest personalities in recent Indian Cinema. He was the director of India's first sound film Alam Ara. He was the producer of India's first colour film Kisan Kanya. He was renowned for making films in Hindi, Telugu, English, German, Indonesian, Persian, Urdu and Tamil. He was a successful entrepreneur who owned film theatres, a gramophone agency, and a car agency.
Kanan Devi was an Indian actress and singer. She was among the early singing stars of Indian cinema, and is credited popularly as the first star of Bengali cinema. Her singing style, usually in rapid tempo, was used instrumentally in some of the biggest hits of New Theatres, Kolkata.
Gul Hamid (1905-1936) was an Indian actor. He started his acting career in silent films and later played leading roles in talkies. He had many honors to his credit. He acted in Heer Ranjha, the first film produced in Punjabi and in Seeta, a talkie that won an honorary diploma in the 1934 Venice Film Festival and that was also the first Indian film shown at an International film festival. Hamid also wrote the script, acted in, and directed the film Khyber Pass (1936). Hamid died of Hodgkin's Disease in 1936.
Madan Theatre Company, also known as Madan Theatres Limited or Madan Theatres in short, was a film production company founded by Jamshedji Framji & his partner kanhaiyalal Kaushik, one of the pioneers of Indian Cinema.
Zubeida Begum Dhanrajgir was an Indian actress. In addition to acting in silent films, she also starred in the first Indian talkie movie Alam Ara (1931). Which was their first talking movie. Her credits include early hits Devdas (1937), and Sagar Movietone's first Natak Meri Jaan.
Paidi Jairaj was an Indian actor, director and producer known for his works majorly in Hindi; few Marathi, Gujarati, Telugu language films, and Telugu theatre. During the talkie period, from 1931 onwards, he started with Shikari in Urdu and English languages. Subsequently, he became one of the leading actors for about two decades, along with V. Shantaram, Ashok Kumar, Prithviraj Kapoor, Motilal etc. He starred in about 170 feature films in a variety of roles. He directed a few films such as Mohar, Mala (1943), Pratima, Rajghar and Saagar (1951), which he produced. In 1980, he was awarded with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest award for films in India, for his contributions to Indian cinema.
Vishwanath Jadhav (1885−1964) was an Indian classical khyal singer and a disciple of Abdul Karim Khan, the founder of Kirana gharana.
Mohini Bhasmasur is a 1913 Indian mythological film directed by Dadasaheb Phalke and starring Kamlabai Gokhale and Durgabai Kamat. It is India's and Phalke's second full-length feature film. Mohini Bhasmasur is the first Indian film to have a female actor. In Raja Harischandra, India's and Phalke's first film, the role of the female was played by Anna Salunke, a male.
Bhaurao Datar was an Indian silent film actor, popularly known for his role as the 17th century Maratha king Shivaji.
Mukhtar Begum was a Pakistani classical, ghazal singer and actress. She was known as The Queen of Music, Queen Songstress and Melody Queen of India for singing songs in films and on radio. She worked in Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu films and was known for her roles in films Hathili Dulhan, Ali Baba 40 Chor, Nala Damayanti, Dil ki Pyas, Ankh ka Nasha, Muflis Ashiq and Chatra Bakavali.
Sudhabala was an Indian actress from the silent era of Hindi films. She is often credited of giving break to Prithviraj Kapoor, the patriarch of the Kapoor family of the Hindi film industry. She along with Patience Cooper, Ruby Myers and Sita Devi is credited as a leading "star" of the 1920s-30s who had more mass appeal than their male counterparts.
Nala and Damayanti is an episode from the Indian epic Mahabharata. It is about King Nala and his wife Damayanti : Nala loses his kingdom in a game of dice and has to go into exile with his faithful wife Damayanti in the forest, where he leaves her. Separated from each other, the two have many adventures before they are finally reunited and Nala regains his kingdom.
