The annual Dadasaheb Phalke Award may be Indian cinema’s highest honour, but there is enough compelling evidence to suggest that it is sexist and part of a broken system. The award named after pioneering producer-director #DadasahebPhalke, who made India’s first movie #RajaHarishchandra (1913), was inaugurated in 1969. 

1. Sexist side of India’s highest cinema prize
HOW DADASAHEB PHALKE AWARD IGNORES FEMALE FILM
TALENT
The annual Dadasaheb Phalke Award may be Indian cinema’s
highest honour, but there is enough compelling evidence to suggest
that it is sexist and part of a broken system.
The award named after pioneering producer-director
#DadasahebPhalke, who made India’s first movie
#RajaHarishchandra (1913), was inaugurated in 1969.
Despite the first prize being given to legendary actress Devika Rani,
the annual honour, selected by what is supposed to be an eminent
jury of film personalities, has been horribly discriminatory against

2. women since then, with many worthy candidates being ignored
across the decades.
This year’s recipient Asha Parekh puts that into stark perspective
because she is the first woman to get the award since Asha Bhosle
won in 2000 and only the fourth to win in the past 44 years.
There have been 52 recipients and only seven have been women.
Reclusive actress Suchitra Sen was offered the award in 2005 but
turned it down to stay out of the public eye.
When you consider that those on the jury have the entire Indian
film industry in all languages to select from, that is a horribly low
number. A big part of the problem is that the annual jury is usually
male dominated and don’t bother to think about the immense
female contribution to Indian cinema.
A recent year that illustrated how clueless those selecting the
winner are was when Vinod Khanna was given the award ahead of
Sridevi. Both legends had sadly passed away before the ceremony
in April, 2018 but they chose to posthumously honour him despite
Sridevi having a much longer career, a greater body of work,
making a bigger impact and being the first pan-Indian star. No
star, male or female, achieved what the boundary-breaking actress
did in different languages, yet she was overlooked. There is no
denying that Vinod Khanna was a great actor, but he just didn’t
have the body of work, longevity, or the impact to warrant the
highest honour.
Like Sridevi, many other great female pioneers and screen icons
passed away without getting that recognition. One of the most
notable not to be recognised was legendary costume designer
Bhanu Athaiya, who was not only the first Indian to win an Oscar,
but also had a remarkable body of work across more than 50 years
and influenced cinema in the most unique way.

3. By ignoring women, the annual award ceremony greatly
disrespects the legacy of the pioneer it is named after because
Dadasaheb Phalke worked hard to get women involved in Indian
cinema and introduced Kamlabai Gokhale as India’s first female
lead in Mohini Bhasmasur (1913).
Although 80-year-old Asha Parekh was honoured and is a popular
winner, there is nothing to suggest that the awards have changed,
and it could be decades before another female is considered, despite
there being many worthy candidates. It is part of a broken Indian
cinema system that continues to hold women back in all areas,
from decision- making, creative input and how much they are paid
to having very little power to affect positive change. Not properly
honouring them fuels that mindset.
Fabulous Indian female film icons who deserve a Dadasaheb Phalke
award

4. #WaheedaRehman: One of the greatest leading ladies in cinema
history, she broke through to the big time in the 1950s as a
teenager and went on to star in all-time classics. The 84-year-old
inspired a generation and made the transition to character roles.

5. #Vyjayanthimala: The first great dancing lead actress in Indian
cinema became a strong symbol of girl power and starred in a
stunning number of iconic films. The 86-year-old loosened the
shackles of the Hindi film heroine and greatly influenced those who
followed in her giant footsteps.
#HemaMalini: The longest reigning queen of Bollywood was
unstoppable throughout the seventies and early eighties. The 73-
year-old’s brilliant body of work is matched by few, both male and
female.
#AparnaSen: Although she made a name for herself as an
incredible actress, many regard the all-round talent as the greatest
female filmmaker in Indian cinema history. The 76-year-old
continues to make acclaimed films and has the kind of path-
breaking work few can match.
#ShabanaAzmi: The acclaimed actress has pretty much won every
Indian film award, except for the biggest prize. The 72-year-old
broke boundaries, along with balancing art house films with
commercial Bollywood and international cinema.
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Dadasaheb Phalke Award, Female Film Talent, Sexist side of Indian Cinema, bollywood news update