Filmfare Awards: Rare facts

Did you know that Filmfare Awards were first called Clares after Clare Mendonca (the Times of India film critic who died the year of the first awards, 1954). Here is some interesting trivia on Filmfare awards, the 54th edition of which was organized recently in Mumbai.

Compiled by India Syndicate

Gregory Peck was expected to be the guest of honour at the first ever awards (March 21, 1954 at the Metro theatre, Mumbai). He couldn't make it to the function since his flight from Colombo got delayed. Peck, however, did attend the banquet that followed the award nite.

At the first “Clares” Awards function, Bimal Roy’s ‘Do Bigha Zameen’ won the award for the best film; Bimal Roy went home with the Best Director award. Dilip Kumar won the award for the best actor (male) for ‘Daag’, while Meena Kumari won her statuette for Baiju Bawra. Naushad was adjudged the best music director for his mind-blowing songs in the Bharat Bhushan starrer, ‘Baiju Bawra’.

Lata Mangeshkar refused to accept her first Filmfare award because the Filmfare statuette was designed in the shape of a woman and “the woman had no clothes on”; the award had to be wrapped with a handkerchief for it to be accepted by the Nightingale.

In 1969, Sunil Dutt lost the best actor’s statuette to Dilip Kumar; Sunil organized a party for Dilip Kumar soon after the awards function, starting the trend of post-award parties.

In 1975, Yash Chopra's Deewaar swept all the awards except, surprisingly, for the lead actor Amitabh Bachchan.

One of Filmfare’s mighty losers has been ‘Sholay’, which won only one award in 1975- for Best Editing!!!

Vani Ganpathi and Kamal Haasan got married on the day of the 25th Filmfare Awards; they attended the award nite with their garlands still around their necks.

The award for Best Choreography was instituted only in 1988. Saroj Khan won it for Madhuri’s sizzling “Ek Do Teen…” number from ‘Tezaab’.

As the Filmfare award function of 1991 came to an end, the entire crowd ran towards Amitabh Bachchan as he stood up near the pool. One of the planks cracked, and Amitabh Bachchan had to do a filmy style rescue operation to save Rakhee from falling.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Black’ holds the record of winning the maximum number of Filmfare Awards. It won 11 at the 51st Filmfare Awards.

Dilip Kumar has been nominated for 19 Filmfare Best Actor Awards in all and he won 8 awards for Best Actor (a record). Shah Rukh Khan has been nominated for 17 times and won 7 times. Amitabh Bachchan has been nominated for 28 Filmfare Best Actor Awards in all (a record) but won 4.