Encouragement and inspiration stimulate people for greater efforts and sincere work. Awards act as a source of encouragement as well as recognition of merit and sacrifice. It is given to individuals and institutions acknowledging their excellent work and outstanding contributions in any walk of life. In the field of Indian cinema, Dada Saheb Phalke Award is the highest film award in the land and is given to eminent film personalities who made a significant and lasting contribution to the cause of Indian cinema. The award was instituted by the Government of India in the year 1969 to commemorate, the memory of Dhundiraj Govind (Dadasaheb) Phalke, the Father of Indian Cinema. He was the maker of the first Indian feature film ‘Raja Harishchandra’ – A silent movie, in the year 1913. The film was 3,700 ft long and it was a wholly Indian venture. It had titles in both Hindi and English and ran for an unprecedented 23 days.
Initially the award carried Rs. 11,000 in cash, a shawl and a plaque. In 1975, the award was increased to Rs. 40,000 in cash and carried a Swarna Kamal (Golden Lotus). In 1985 the cash amount was raised to Rs. 1, 00,000.
Till date, the award has been won by great film personalities for their lifetime achievements. The award winners from 1969 onwards are: Devika Rani Roerich (1969), B.N. Sircar (1970), Prithviraj Kapoor (posthumous) (1971), Pankaj Mallick (1972), Sulochana (Ruby Meyers) (1973), B.N. Reddi (1974), Dhiren Ganguly (1975), Kanan Devi (1976), Nitin Bose (1977), R.C. Boral (1978), Shorab Modi (1979), P. Jairaj (1980), Naushad (1981), L.V. Prasad (1982), Durga Khote (1983), Satyajit Ray (1984), V. Shantaram (1985), B. Naggi Reddi (1986), Raj Kapoor (1987), Ashok Kumar (1988), Lata Mangeshkar (1989), A. Nageshwar Rao (1990), B. Pendharkar (1991), Bhupen Hazarika (1992), Majrooh Sultanpuri (1993), Dilip Kumar (1994).
Apart from the Dada Saheb Phalke award several other national film awards are given for different specified categories. There is a film jury which decides the different awards. These awards are given every year at a function called National Film Festival.