Filmfare Awards Bangla is the Bengali segment of the annual Filmfare Awards, presented by the Filmfare magazine of The Times Group to honour the artistic and cinematic excellence in Bengali cinema. When it was introduced in 1954, the Filmfare Awards initially recognized achievements only in the Hindi cinema. In 1964 the awards were extended to Telugu, Tamil, Bengali and Marathi languages. But the Bengali segment was discontinued after 1985 for unknown reasons.
After being discontinued for almost three decades, the award ceremony was restarted in 2014 and renamed as the Filmfare Awards East. The first installment of the awards was held collectively for Bengali, Assamese and Odia films as Filmfare Awards East, in a ceremony on 29 March 2014.
The award ceremony was discontinued again for two consecutive years in 2015 and 2016, due to unequal representation, award distribution and importance among the 3 film industries. It was again started from 2017, rebranded as Filmfare Awards Bangla and presently, it is given only to the Bengali Film Industry.
History The awards were first given in 1953 as the Filmfare Awards and initially only the Hindi film industry was recognized. In 1963, the Awards were extended to Best Picture in Telugu, Tamil, Bengali and Marathi film industries. Special categories for Best Director, Best Actor and Best Actress were introduced from 1974. But for unknown reasons, the Filmfare Awards Bangla segment was discontinued after 1985.
Later in 2014, after almost 3 decades, this award segment was revived and rebranded as the "Filmfare Awards East". That year onwards, separate categories for the other Special Awards were introduced. On 8 March 2014, in a press conference held at Kolkata, the Worldwide Media Group announced that Filmfare Award is debuting in Eastern India named as "Filmfare Awards East" to honour the best cinematic artistic talents of the region.
In the inaugural installment, it was declared that awards in 29 categories would be given away at the Science City auditorium, Kolkata on 29 March 2014. The awards would include 21 trophies for Bengali movies and four each for Odia and Assamese films. The four categories for both Odia and Assamese films were Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Actress. The winners were selected from 102 entries in Bengali films, 36 and 14 entries respectively from the Odia and Assamese films.
The Award ceremony was again briefly discontinued and not hosted in 2015 and 2016 due to the unequal representation and award distribution among the three film industries. From 2017 the award is given only to Bengali film industry. No awards were given in 2019 and 2020 owing to the then ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 2021 onwards, the award was once again rebranded as the "Filmfare Awards Bangla" and is given only to the Bengali film industry.
The Red Carpet The red carpet is a segment that takes place before the beginning of the actual ceremony. This is where actors, actresses, producers, directors, singers, composers and others who have contributed to Bengali cinema are introduced. Hosts question the celebrities about upcoming performances and who they think deserves to take the Black Lady home.
Popular awards Best Film Best Director Best Actor Best Actress Best Supporting Actor Best Supporting Actress Best Male Debut Best Female Debut Best Debut Director Best Music Director Best Lyricist Best Male Playback Singer Best Female Playback Singer
Critics' awards Best Film (Critics) Best Actor (Critics) Best Actress (Critics)
Technical awards Best Story Best Screenplay Best Dialogue Best Art Direction Best Background Score Best Cinematography Best Editing Best Sound Design Best Costume Design
Special awards Filmfare Bangla Lifetime Achievement Award
Winners 1963-1985 (No other nominees were present) 1963 Best Film Mahanagar – R. D. Bhansal
1964 Best Film Charulata – R. D. Bhansal
1965 Best Film Atithi – S. N. Sircar
1966 Best Film Balika Badhu – Samila Devi
1967 Best Film Hatey Bazarey – Asim Dutta
1968 Best Film Apanjan – R. K. Kapoor
1969 Best Film Kamal Lata – Nirel Sil
1970 Best Film Pratidwandi – Nepal Dutta Asim Dutta
1971 Best Film Nimantran – Bharat Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana
1972 Best Film Mem Saheb – Ashim Bhattacharjee
1973 Best Film Strir Patra – Dhrupadi
1974 Best Film Best Director Amanush – Shakti Samanta Piyush Bose – Bikaley Bhorer Phool Best Actor Best Actress Uttam Kumar- Amanush Aparna Sen – Sujata
1975 Best Film Best Director Sansar Simante – Subir Ghosh Satyajit Ray – Sonar Kella Best Actor Best Actress Soumitra Chatterjee – Sansar Simante Suchitra Sen – Priyo Bandhabi
1976 Best Film Best Director Jana Aranya – Subir Guha Satyajit Ray – Jana Aranya Best Actor Best Actress Pradip Mukherjee – Jana Aranya Aparna Sen – Asamaya
1977 Best Film Best Director Ek Je Chhilo Desh – Raj Kapoor Ritwik Ghatak – Jukti Takko Aar Gappo Best Actor Best Actress Soumitra Chatterjee- Babu Moshai Supriya Devi – Sister
1978 Best Film Best Director Baarbodhu – Dehabrata Sircar Bijoy Chatterjee – Baarbodhu Best Actor Best Actress Uttam Kumar- Dhanraj Tamang Gita Siddharth – Baarbodhu
1979 Best Film Best Director Ganadevata – Department of Information and Cultural Affairs, Government of West Bengal Satyajit Ray – Joi Baba Felunath Best Actor Best Actress Soumitra Chatterjee- Ganadevata Sandhya Roy – Ganadevata 1980 Best Film Best Director Bancharamer Bagan Tapan Sinha – Bancharamer Bagan Best Actor Best Actress Manoj Mitra- Bancharamer Bagan Mahua Roychoudhury – Dadar Kirti
1981 Best Film Best Director Dooratwa – Buddhadeb Dasgupta Buddhadeb Dasgupta – Dooratwa Best Actor Best Actress Tapas Paul- Saheb Sumitra Mukherjee – Baisakhi Megh
1982 Best Film Best Director Kharij – Mrinal Sen Mrinal Sen – Akaler Shandhaney Best Actor Best Actress Dhritiman Chatterjee- Akaler Shandhaney Aparna Sen – Bijoyini
1983 Best Film Best Director Chokh – Department of Information & Cultural Affairs, Government of West Bengal Utpalendu Chakrabarty – Chokh Best Actor Best Actress Soumitra Chatterjee- Agradani Aparna Sen – Indira
1985 Best Film Best Director Parama – Niharendu Guha Aparna Sen – Parama Best Actor Best Actress Victor Banerjee- Ghare Bairi Raakhee – Parama
Ceremonies 2014-2018 1st Filmfare Awards East - 2014 2nd Filmfare Awards East - 2017 3rd Filmfare Awards East - 2018
2021-present 4th Filmfare Awards Bangla - 2021 5th Filmfare Awards Bangla - 2022 6th Filmfare Awards Bangla - 2023 7th Filmfare Awards Bangla - 2024 8th Filmfare Awards Bangla - 2025
See also Filmfare Filmfare Awards Bengali Film Industry Cinema of India
References
External links Filmfare Awards Bangla 2024 Filmfare Awards Bangla