The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is the highest honor in the Indian film industry. It is given to people who have made outstanding contributions to the progress and growth of Indian cinema. The award was started in 1969 by the Government of India in memory of Dadasaheb Phalke, who is known as the “father of Indian cinema.” He created India’s first full-length feature film, Raja Harishchandra, in 1913, which marked the beginning of Indian filmmaking.
The inaugural presentation of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award took place in 1969, with actress Devika Rani being the first recipient. Devika Rani, renowned for her contributions to Indian cinema, was honored at the 17th National Film Awards, setting a tradition of recognizing outstanding achievers in the film fraternity.
The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is presented annually at the National Film Awards ceremony, organized by the Directorate of Film Festivals, a body operating under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. This prestigious accolade comprises a Swarna Kamal (Golden Lotus) medallion, a shawl and a cash prize of Rs.1,000,000 (US$13,000). Recipients are selected through a meticulous process overseen by a committee composed of eminent personalities from the Indian film industry.
The first recipient of Dada Saheb Phalke award was actress Devika Rani who was honored at the 17th National Film Awards. Here is the complete list of Dada Saheb Phalke Award winners since its inception in 1969 to 2025:
| Ceremonial Year | Recipient | Film Industry |
| 1969 (19th) | Devika Rani | Hindi |
| 1970 (20th) | Birendranath Sircar | Bengali |
| 1971 (21st) | Prithviraj Kapoor | Hindi |
| 1972 (22nd) | Pankaj Mullick | Bengali & Hindi |
| 1973 (23rd) | Ruby Myers (Sulochana) | Hindi |
| 1974 (24th) | Boomireddy Narasimha Reddy | Telugu |
| 1975 (25th) | Dhirendra Nath Ganguly | Bengali |
| 1976 (26th) | Kanan Devi | Bengali |
| 1977 (27th) | Nitin Bose | Bengali, Hindi |
| 1978 (28th ) | Raichand Boral | Bengali, Hindi |
| 1979 (29th) | Sohab Modi | Hindi |
| 1980 (30th) | Paidi Jairaj | Hindi, Telugu |
| 1981 (31st) | Naushad | Hindi |
| 1982 (32nd) | L.V. Prasad | Hindi, Tamil, Telugu |
| 1983 (33rd) | Durga Khote | Hindi, Marathi |
| 1984 (34th) | Satyajit Ray | Bengali |
| 1985 (35th) | V. Shantaram | Hindi, Marathi |
| 1986 (36th) | B. Nagi Reddy | Telugu |
| 1987 (37th) | Raj Kapoor | Hindi |
| 1988 (38th) | Ashok Kumar | Hindi |
| 1989 (39th) | Lata Mangeshkar | Hindi, Maratha |
| 1990 (40th) | Akkineni Nageswara Rao | Telugu |
| 1991 (41st) | Bhalji Pendharkar | Marathi |
| 1992 (42nd) | Bhupen Hazarika | Assamese |
| 1993 (43rd) | Majrooh Sultanpuri | Hindi |
| 1994 (44th) | Dilip Kumar | Hindi |
| 1995 (45th) | Rajkumar | Kannada |
| 1996 (46th) | Sivaji Ganesan | Tamil |
| 1997 (47th) | Kavi Pradeep | Hindi |
| 1998 (48th) | B.R. Chopra | Hindi |
| 1999 (49th) | Hrishikesh Mukherjee | Hindi |
| 2000 (50th) | Asha Bhosle | Hindi, Marathi |
| 2001 (51st) | Yash Chopra | Hindi |
| 2002 (52nd) | Dev Anand | Hindi |
| 2003 (53rd) | Mrinal Sen | Bengali |
| 2004 (54th) | Adoor Gopalkrishnan | Malayalam |
| 2005 (55th) | Shyam Benegal | Hindi |
| 2006 (56th) | Tapan Sinha | Bengali, Hindi |
| 2007 (57th) | Manna Dey | Bengali, Hindi |
| 2008 (58th) | V.K. Murthy | Hindi |
| 2009 (59th) | D. Ramanaidu | Telugu |
| 2010 (60th) | K. Balachander | Tamil, Telugu |
| 2011 (61st) | Soumitra Chatterjee | Bengali |
| 2012 (62nd) | Pran | Hindi |
| 2013 (63rd) | Gulzar | Hindi |
| 2014 (64th) | Shashi Kapoor | Hindi |
| 2015 (65th) | Manoj Kapoor | Hindi |
| 2016 (66th) | Kasinathuni Viswanath | Telugu |
| 2017 (67th) | Vinod Khanna | Hindi |
| 2018 (68th) | Amitabh Bachchan | Hindi |
| 2019 (69th) | Rajnikanth | Tamil |
| 2020 (70th) | Asha Parekh | Hindi |
| 2021 (71st) | Rajnikanth | Tamil |
| 2022 (72nd) | Asha Parekh | Hindi |
| 2023 (73rd) | Rekha | Hindi |
| 2024 (74th) | Mithun Chakraborty | Hindi |
| 2025 (75th) | Mohanlal | Malayalam |
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