Legendary Actor Waheeda Rehman to receive esteemed Dadasaheb Phalke award.

Why in the news?

Veteran actor Waheeda Rehman will be honored with this year’s Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest recognition in the field of Indian cinema.

  • The Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Awards 2023 was held in Mumbai.
  • Ranbir Kapoor won ‘Best Actor (Male)’ for his role in Brahmastra while Alia Bhatt won ‘Best Actor (Female)’ for Gangubai Kathiawadi
  • While Rupali Ganguly’s Anupama took the award for ‘Television Series of The Year’ for the second year.

About Waheeda Rehman

  • Waheeda Rehman, 85, made her acting debut with the 1955 Telugu films “Rojulu Maraayi” and “Jayasimha”.
  • She made her Hindi cinema debut with “CID”, the 1956 film headlined by Dev Anand.
  • In a career spanning over five decades, the legendary actor has worked in more than 90 films across languages.
  • Through the 60s, Waheeda starred in some of the biggest Bollywood hits like Guide, Ram Aur Shyam, and Neel Kamal.
  • She won acclaim for her performance in films like ‘Khamoshi’ and ‘Reshma Aur Shera.’
  • Regarded one of India’s finest actors, Rehman is best known for films including “Pyaasa”, “CID”, “Chaudhavi Ka Chaand”, “Kaagaz Ke Phool”, “Khamoshi” and “Trishul”.
  • Following Kabhi Kabhie (1976), she moved on to supporting and senior roles and has since played important characters in major films like Lamhe, Namak Halaal, Rang De Basanti, and Delhi-6.
  • Rehman was last seen in “Skater Girl“, a 2021 coming-of-age sports drama.

 

Awards

  • She received a National Film Award for her role as a clanswoman in “Reshma and Shera” (1971).
  • She is already the recipient of Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan.

 

About the Dadasaheb Phalke Award

  • The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India’s highest award in the field of cinema.
  • Presented first in 1969, the award was introduced by the Government of India to commemorate Dadasaheb Phalke’s contribution to Indian cinema.
  • It is presented annually at the National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals, an organization set up by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
  • It is not the same as The DPIFF (Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Awards) that was started in 2012. It is an independent corporate film festival. DPIFF is completely a private ceremony organized by the family members of Dadasaheb Phalke.
  • The recipient is honoured for their “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 (Golden Lotus) medallion, a shawl, and a cash prize of ₹1,000,000 (US$13,000).
  • The first women recipient of the award was actress Devika Rani, who was honored at the 17th National Film Awards.
  • As of 2022, there have been 52 awardees. Among those, actor Prithviraj Kapoor (1971) and actor Vinod Khanna (2017) are the only posthumous recipients.