1st National Film Awards
| 1st National Film Awards | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Best of Indian cinema in 1953 |
| Awarded by | Dr Rajendra Prasad (President of India) |
| Presented by | Ministry of Information and Broadcasting |
| Presented on | 10 October 1954 |
| Site | Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi |
| Official website | dff.nic.in |
| Best Feature Film | Shyamchi Aai |
The 1st National Film Awards, presented by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India to felicitate the best of Indian Cinema censored in the year 1953. Ceremony took place at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi on 10 October 1954 and awards were given by then President of India, Dr Rajendra Prasad.
Instituted as State Awards for Films, which over the years known as National Film Awards, in its first year, were given in three different categories to honour the films at national level. Films made in all Indian languages were considered for the award. Awards were instituted, in order to encourage the production of the films of a high aesthetic and technical standard and educational and culture value.
Awards were categorised into three categories; Feature films, Documentaries and Children's films, where Gold Medal and Certificate of Merit was awarded in each category. For first two categories, Gold Medal was awarded as President's Gold Medal whereas for Children's films, it was awarded as Prime Minister's Gold Medal. For 1st National Film Awards, Prime Minister's Gold Medal Award for Children's film, though declared as one of the awards, was not given to any film as no film was found to be suitable.
Shyamchi Aai, a Marathi film received an honour to be the first Indian film to receive President's Gold Medal for the All India Best Feature Film, which now better known as National Film Award for Best Feature Film.
India had its first full-length motion picture when Dhundiraj Govind Phalke, popularly known as Dadasaheb Phalke directed and produced a mythological silent film – Raja Harishchandra, released on 3 May 1913, at Coronation Cinema, Mumbai. This is marked as the beginning of the Indian film industry. Though film had female characters, Phalke could not get any female to play these roles. All the female characters were also played by male artists.
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