Context: The Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2020 will be conferred on veteran actress Asha Parekh
About the Award:
It is presented annually by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
The award is considered the highest honour in the Indian film fraternity.
It is awarded for outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema.
The award was instituted by the government in 1969, and consists of a ‘Swarna Kamal’, a cash prize of INR 10 lakh, a certificate, a silk roll, and a shawl.
The award is presented by the President of India.
The first recipient of the award was Devika Rani Roerich in 1969.
About Dhundiraj Govind ‘Dadasaheb’ Phalke:
He was born in 1870 at Trimbak in Maharashtra.
He studied engineering and sculpture and developed an interest in motion pictures after watching the 1906 silent film The Life of Christ.
Before venturing into films, Phalke worked as a photographer, owned a printing press, and had even worked with the famed painter Raja Ravi Varma.
In 1913, Phalke wrote, produced, and directed India’s first feature film, the silent Raja Harishchandra.
