Dadasaheb Phalke Award Winners: List and Exam Facts

The correct answer is C, 1969. The Dadasaheb Phalke Award was introduced in 1969 by the Government of India, as part of the celebration of the birth centenary of Dhundiraj Govind Phalke, and it has been conferred each year since on one person for a lifetime's contribution to Indian cinema. Option A is wrong because 1954 is the year in which the National Film Awards themselves began, as well as the year the Bharat Ratna was instituted, which makes it the strongest distractor in this set. Option B is wrong because 1961 has no connection with the award. Option D is wrong because 1973 is simply a later year in the series, by which time four recipients had already been honoured. The pair worth remembering together is 1954 for the National Film Awards and 1969 for the Dadasaheb Phalke Award.

The correct answer is A, Devika Rani. Devika Rani, an actress and producer often described as the first lady of Indian cinema, received the first Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1969, so the very first recipient of the honour was a woman. Option B is wrong because Kanan Devi, the singer and actress of the Bengali screen, received the award in 1976. Option C is wrong because Durga Khote received it in 1983. Option D is wrong because Ruby Myers, who acted under the name Sulochana and was among the biggest stars of the silent era, received it in 1973. All four are women from the early decades of Indian cinema, which is why the question turns entirely on the year 1969 and the name attached to it.

The correct answer is B, Raja Harishchandra. Dadasaheb Phalke wrote, produced and directed Raja Harishchandra, released in 1913, which is recognised as the first full-length Indian feature film, and it is for this that he is called the father of Indian cinema. Option A is wrong because Alam Ara, made by Ardeshir Irani and released in 1931, was the first Indian talkie, that is the first film with sound, and it is the fact most often confused with this one. Option C is wrong because Kisan Kanya of 1937 is remembered as the first indigenously processed colour film of India. Option D is wrong because Pundalik, of 1912, was a filmed stage performance and is not counted as the first full-length Indian feature. The chain of firsts worth memorising is Raja Harishchandra in 1913 for the feature film, Alam Ara in 1931 for sound and Kisan Kanya in 1937 for colour.

The correct answer is B, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The award is conferred by the Government of India through the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and is presented at the annual National Film Awards ceremony, the recipient being chosen by a committee of eminent persons from the film industry. Option A is wrong because the Ministry of Culture handles the Sangeet Natak Akademi, the Sahitya Akademi and the Lalit Kala Akademi, and the arts they cover, but not the film awards. Option C is wrong because the Ministry of Education is concerned with schools, universities and literacy. Option D is wrong because the Ministry of Home Affairs administers the Padma awards and the Bharat Ratna, which is a different family of honours and a common source of confusion.

The correct answer is A, Swarna Kamal, the Golden Lotus. The recipient is given the Swarna Kamal or Golden Lotus medallion, along with a shawl and a cash prize, at the National Film Awards ceremony. Option B is wrong because the Rajat Kamal, the Silver Lotus, is given for several of the other categories of the National Film Awards, such as the best actor and the best director, so the two lotuses must be kept apart. Option C is wrong because the Ashoka Chakra is a gallantry award of an entirely different kind, given for bravery in peacetime. Option D is wrong because the Golden Peacock is the top prize of the International Film Festival of India, an award for a film rather than a lifetime honour for a person.

The correct answer is A, Prithviraj Kapoor. Prithviraj Kapoor, the actor of both stage and screen and the founder of Prithvi Theatres, received the award in 1971 and was its first posthumous recipient. Option B is wrong because B. N. Sircar, the producer who founded New Theatres in Calcutta, received the award in 1970, the year before, and received it in his lifetime. Option C is wrong because Pankaj Mullick, the composer and singer, received it in 1972, the year after. Option D is wrong because V. Shantaram, the director remembered for Do Aankhen Barah Haath and other films, received it much later, in 1985. The three consecutive years of 1970, 1971 and 1972 are worth holding together, because they are set against one another in exactly this way.

The correct answer is B, 1984. Satyajit Ray, the Bengali director of Pather Panchali and the rest of the Apu trilogy, received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1984. Option A is wrong because 1974 is a decade too early, and the recipient of that year belongs to the earlier group of pioneers. Option C is wrong because 1992 is the year in which Bhupen Hazarika was honoured; 1992 is also the year Ray received the Bharat Ratna and an honorary Academy Award shortly before his death, which is precisely why this option is placed here. Option D is wrong because 1996 is the year of Sivaji Ganesan, the Tamil actor. Separating Ray's Phalke award of 1984 from his Bharat Ratna of 1992 is the whole point of this question.

The correct answer is B, 1989. Lata Mangeshkar received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1989, and she was later awarded the Bharat Ratna in 2001. Option A is wrong because 1987 is the year of Raj Kapoor, the actor, director and showman of Hindi cinema. Option C is wrong because 1994 is the year of Dilip Kumar, who is frequently set against Lata Mangeshkar in such questions because both belong to the same era of Hindi film. Option D is wrong because 2000 is the year of Asha Bhosle, her sister, and the two Mangeshkar sisters are the pair most often interchanged in this chapter. Holding the two together, Lata Mangeshkar in 1989 and Asha Bhosle in 2000, removes the confusion at a stroke. A further anchor is that Lata Mangeshkar's Phalke award of 1989 came twelve years before her Bharat Ratna of 2001, so the two honours should never be given the same year.

The correct answer is B, 2018. Amitabh Bachchan was named for the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2018, and the honour was presented at the National Film Awards ceremony that followed. Option A is wrong because 2016 is the year of Kasinathuni Viswanath, the Telugu director. Option C is wrong because 2019 is the year of Rajinikanth, the Tamil actor, whose award came immediately after Amitabh Bachchan's and is the commonest wrong choice here. Option D is wrong because 2020 is the year of Asha Parekh, the actress of the nineteen sixties. Keeping the run of recent years in order, Viswanath in 2016, Vinod Khanna in 2017, Amitabh Bachchan in 2018, Rajinikanth in 2019 and Asha Parekh in 2020, answers every question drawn from this part of the list.

The correct answer is A, Asha Bhosle. Asha Bhosle, the playback singer with one of the longest careers in Indian film music, received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2000. Option B is wrong because Lata Mangeshkar, her elder sister, received it eleven years earlier, in 1989, and the two sisters are the pair most frequently interchanged in questions from this chapter. Option C is wrong because Manna Dey, the singer of Hindi and Bengali film songs, received it in 2007. Option D is wrong because Bhupen Hazarika, the singer, composer and film-maker of Assam, received it in 1992. All four are singers, so the question turns on the years alone, and the safest anchor is the pair 1989 and 2000 for the two Mangeshkar sisters.

The correct answer is B, 1913. Raja Harishchandra, written, produced and directed by Dadasaheb Phalke, was released in 1913 and is recognised as the first full-length Indian feature film; the Dadasaheb Phalke Award takes its name from its maker. Option A is wrong because 1896 is the year the first films were shown in Bombay by the representatives of the Lumiere brothers, a screening rather than an Indian production. Option C is wrong because 1931 is the year of Alam Ara, made by Ardeshir Irani, the first Indian film with sound. Option D is wrong because 1937 is the year of Kisan Kanya, the first indigenously processed colour film of India. The chain 1896, 1913, 1931 and 1937 covers nearly every question on the firsts of Indian cinema.