''Filmfare'' is an Indian
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
-language fortnightly magazine published by Worldwide Media. Acknowledged as one of Indian most popular entertainment magazines, it publishes pieces involving news, interviews, photos, videos, reviews, events, and style. The magazine also gives annually the
Filmfare Awards
The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were first introduced by th ...
, the
Filmfare Awards South
Filmfare Awards South is the South Indian segment of the annual Filmfare Awards, presented by the Filmfare magazine of The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Indian film industry encompassing ...
, the
Filmfare Awards East, the
Filmfare Marathi Awards, the
Filmfare Awards Punjabi, the
Filmfare OTT Awards, the
Filmfare Short Film Awards and the Filmfare Style & Glamour Awards.
After the businessman Ramkrishna Dalmia (1893–1978) of
Dalmia Group
Dalmia Bharat Group, (DBG) is an Indian conglomerate company, which trace their origin to the businesses established by ''Ramkrishna Dalmia'' and Jaidayal Dalmia. The Dalmia brothers established a business conglomerate in eastern India, in the ...
purchased
Bennett, Coleman and Company Limited (BCCL) in 1946, J. C. Jain from Bharat Insurance Company was employed to help him to run the company in 1950. In this period, Jain conceived the idea of ''Filmfare'' at the actress
Kamini Kaushal
Kamini Kaushal (born as Uma Kashyap, 24 February 1927) is an Indian actress who worked in Hindi films and television. She is noted for her roles in films such as ''Neecha Nagar'' (1946), which won the 1946 Palme d'Or (Golden Palm) at Cannes Fil ...
's house. The magazine was launched by the industrialist
Sahu Shanti Prasad Jain
Sahu Shanti Prasad Jain was an Indian industrialist and philanthropist. He was the son-in-law of Ramkrishna Dalmia and former chairman of Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd., Bennett, Coleman. His family, Sahu Jains, owns the Times of India newspaper ...
alongside his wife Rama in
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
on 7 March 1952. Its publication's circulation started to decline in the early 1990s and, to handle these problems, ''Filmfare'' started special monthly editions for
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nati ...
,
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
S ...
, and
Malayalam cinema
Malayalam cinema is an Indian film industry of Malayalam-language motion pictures. It is based in Kochi, Kerala, India. The films produced in Malayalam cinema are known for their cinematography and story-driven plots. In 1982, ''Elippathayam' ...
. In 2004, BCCL (who was previously published the magazine) established a subsidiary, Worldwide Media, for publishing its future issues.
History
Establishment (1946–1952)
![Filmfare March 1952](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Filmfare_March_1952.jpg)
Ramkrishna Dalmia (1893–1978) was born in
Chirawa into a
Marwari family. He had a brother,
Jaidayal Dalmia, with whom he established
Dalmia Group
Dalmia Bharat Group, (DBG) is an Indian conglomerate company, which trace their origin to the businesses established by ''Ramkrishna Dalmia'' and Jaidayal Dalmia. The Dalmia brothers established a business conglomerate in eastern India, in the ...
in the 1930s. In 1946, on the threshold of the
independence of India
The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947.
The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...
from the United Kingdom, Ramkrishna Dalmia purchased
Bennett, Coleman and Company Limited (BCCL) for . According to Sangita P. Menon Malhan's ''The TOI Story'' (2013), the attempt was did by him solely because he wanted to establish newspapers that could help him to "serve India effectively". While Dalmia searching for a person to help him to run it, J. C. Jain, a former employee of Bharat Insurance Company, saw the opportunity and took it in March 1950; he became the company's general manager until 1963.
During his term-of-office, Jain started the publication of ''Filmfare'' as a fortnightly magazine on 7 March 1952 to "build awareness about filmmaking and films". It was launched by
Sahu Shanti Prasad Jain
Sahu Shanti Prasad Jain was an Indian industrialist and philanthropist. He was the son-in-law of Ramkrishna Dalmia and former chairman of Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd., Bennett, Coleman. His family, Sahu Jains, owns the Times of India newspaper ...
and his wife Rama in
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
, distributed by ''
The Times of India
''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...
'' newspaper, and promoted with the taglines, "Another name for 'Credibility and "The first serious effort in film journalism in India". It contains short biography of rising actors at the time, film reviews, and a number of columns, including "The Fortnight in Films" and "Filmfacts".
Published two months after the 1st
International Film Festival of India
The International Film Festival of India (IFFI), founded in 1952, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. Held annually, currently in the state of Goa, on the western coast of the country, the festival aims at providing a common pla ...
, Neepa Majumdar (in her 2012 book ''Global Neorealism: The Transnational History of a Film Style'') wrote that the magazine "saw the festival as an opportunity for Indian film
ctorsto be expose to quality films" and established themselves as leading actors. In the first issue, a manifesto was declared:
It is from this dual standpoint of its industry and its patrons, whom comprise the vast audience of movie fans, that ''Filmfare'' is primarily designed. This magazine represents the first serious effort in film journalism in India. It is a movie magazine—with a difference. The difference lies in our realisation that the film as a composite art medium calls for serious study and constructive criticism and appreciation from the industry as also from the public.
The Filmfare Awards (1953–2001)
![Filmfare April 1954](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Filmfare_April_1954.jpg)
In the next year, ''Filmfare'' instituted the
Filmfare Awards
The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were first introduced by th ...
(previously Clare Awards, named after
Clare Mendonça
Clare Mendonça (1910–1953) was a prominent film journalist in India, whose film reviews had a large readership. After her early death, she was honoured when the Clare Award, now the Filmfare Award, was instituted in 1954.
Career
Mendonça wa ...
). Modelled after the
Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
, the winners were voted by a total of 20,000 of the magazine's readers. The
first iteration's ceremony took place at
Metro Cinema Metro Cinema may refer to:
* Metro Cinema (Derby), closed 2008
* Metro Cinema (Mumbai) 1938–2006 name, now Metro BIG Cinemas, Mumbai
* Metro Cinema (Kolkata), a single screen movie theatre in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta)
* Metro Cinema Edmonton, ...
in Bombay on 21 March 1954, and only five categories without nominations were presented:
Best Film
This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
,
Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to:
Film awards
* AACTA Award for Best Direction
* Academy Award for Best Director
* BA ...
,
Best Actor
Best Actor is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actors in a film, television series, television film or play.
The term most often refers to th ...
,
Best Actress, and
Best Music Director. The award has been considered one of the oldest and most prominent film awards in India; ''
Business Line
''Business Line'' or ''The Hindu Business Line'' is an Indian business newspaper published by Kasturi & Sons, the publishers of the newspaper ''The Hindu'' located in Chennai, India. The newspaper covers priority industry verticals, such as Agri ...
'' called it "one such coveted award".
In 1957, ''Filmfare'' published the "Self-portraits" series, where several well-known actors at the time, including
Ashok Kumar,
Dev Anand
Dharamdev Pishorimal Anand (26 September 1923 – 3 December 2011), better known as Dev Anand, was an Indian actor, writer, director and producer known for his work in Hindi cinema, through a career that spanned over six decades. He was ...
,
Dilip Kumar
Mohammed Yusuf Khan (; 11 December 1922 – 7 July 2021), better known by his stage name Dilip Kumar, was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi cinema. Credited with pioneering method acting in cinema, he dominated the Indian movie scene from lat ...
,
Meena Kumari,
Nargis,
Nutan and
Raj Kapoor, were invited and accepted to explain themselves and their life experiences. The magazine faced controversy after the actress
Sharmila Tagore did a shot with her photographer Dhiren Chawda with only wearing a two-piece
floral
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism ...
bikini for its 19 August 1966 issue. The first time for an Indian celebrity to pose with only a bikini for a magazine cover, she revealed that it was her personal choice but later admitted she had "no idea" why she wanted to. In association with United Producers (a group formed by
G. P. Sippy
Gopaldas Parmanand Sipahimalani (14 September 1914 — 25 December 2007), better known as G. P. Sippy, was an Indian film producer and director who worked in the Bollywood industry.
Biography
Sippy was born in Sindh, British India (now in Pak ...
,
Shakti Samanta and
B. R. Chopra
Baldev Raj Chopra (22 April 1914 – 5 November 2008) was a famous Indian director and producer of Bollywood industry and television series . Best known for directing Hindi films like ''Naya Daur'' (1957), '' Sadhna'' (1958), ''Kanoon'' (1961) ...
), ''Filmfare'' organised the United Producers-Filmfare Talent Contest (also known as the All India Talent Contest) in 1965.
In the 1970s, Rauf Ahmed worked as the editor of the magazine, replacing
B. K. Karanjia
Burjor Khurshedji Karanjia (21 December 1919 – 25 June 2012) was an Indian film journalist and editor. He was the editor of ''Filmfare'' for 18 years, followed by ''Screen'' which he edited for 10 years. He also remained the chairman of the Nat ...
who had filled the position for 18 years. Talking to ''
Daily News and Analysis
Publications established in 2005
Newspapers published in Mumbai
English-language newspapers published in India
Daily newspapers published in India
Essel Group
2005 establishments in Maharashtra ...
'' in 2015, Ahmed spoke of how the magazine was nearly collapsed at the time due to no gossip columns were written by its journalist. Following his quit, Bikram Singh (the actor
K. N. Singh
Krishan Niranjan Singh (1 September 1908 – 31 January 2000), known as K. N. Singh in Indian cinema, was a prominent villain and character actor. He appeared in over 200 Hindi films over a long career stretching from 1936 to the late 1980s.
...
's brother) was hired for the position until the early of the next decade.
Pritish Nandy
Pritish Nandy (born 15 January 1951) is an Indian poet, painter, journalist, parliamentarian, media and television personality, animal activist and maker of films, TV and streaming content. He was a parliamentarian in the Rajya Sabha from Mahara ...
replaced him in 1984; the first issue he edited was published in July that year, titled "Unquestionably No. 1", which features the actress
Sridevi
Shree Amma Yanger Ayyappan (13 August 1963 – 24 February 2018), professionally credited with her stage name Sridevi, was an Indian actress who worked in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam, and Kannada language films. Cited as the "First Female ...
on the cover. The circulation of ''Filmfare'' dropped in the early 1990s, prompting the publisher to attach free consumer products (such as soaps or shampoo sachets) to the magazine. Additionally, special monthly editions with a few pages dedicated to
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...
,
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nati ...
and
Telugu cinema
Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Telugu language, widely spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Telugu cinema is based in Film Nagar, Hy ...
were begun and, as reported by ''
The Quint'' in 2019, becoming commercial successes.
Khalid Mohamed was appointed as the new editor in 1993.
Ownership change (2002–present)
In 2002, following Mohamed's nine-year tenure, Shashi Baliga replaced him as ''Filmfare'' editor; in an article published in ''Business Line'', she described the occupation as "an opportunity that came unsought". BCCL announced their joint venture with the
BBC Worldwide
BBC Worldwide Ltd. was the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the BBC, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in January 1995. The company monetises BBC brands, selling BBC and other British programming for broadcas ...
, a company named Worldwide Media, on 1 December 2004; the new company later published the future issues of the magazine. In 2006,
Jitesh Pillai was appointed as the new editor. ''Filmfare'' launched the
Filmfare Awards East in 2014, the Filmfare Style & Glamour Awards and
Filmfare Marathi Awards in 2015, the
Filmfare Short Film Awards in 2016, the
Filmfare Awards Punjabi in 2017, and the
Filmfare OTT Awards in 2020. , the magazine was published by Joji Varghese under
The Times Group
Bennett, Coleman and Company Limited, (abbreviated as B.C.C.L. and d/b/a The Times Group), is an Indian media conglomerate headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The company remains a family-owned business with Sahu Jain family owning a majority ...
's subsidiary Worldwide Media and Pillai served as the editor.
Reception
''Filmfare'' covers news, interviews, photos, videos, reviews, events, and style. It is considered one of the most popular and reputable magazine in India;
''
The Illustrated Weekly of India
''The Illustrated Weekly of India'' was an English-language weekly newsmagazine publication in India. It started publication in 1880 (as ''Times of India'' Weekly Edition; later renamed as ''The Illustrated Weekly of India'' in 1923) and ceasin ...
'' referred to the magazine as "decorous", and British magazine ''
The Spectator
''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world.
It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...
'' praised it for "
rovidinga good example of how the mainstream media marginalizes certain films as 'sleaze.
According to a 2004 article by ''
The Economic Times
''The Economic Times'' is an Indian English-language business-focused daily newspaper. It is owned by The Times Group. ''The Economic Times'' began publication in 1961. As of 2012, it is the world's second-most widely read English-language bus ...
'', the magazine's monthly print circulation was 147,000. In 2008, the cinema and cultural analysis professor
Rachel Dwyer
Rachel Dwyer is a professor of Indian Cultures and Cinema at SOAS, University of London.
Life
Dwyer took her BA in Sanskrit at SOAS, followed by an MPhil in General Linguistics and Comparative Philology at the University of Oxford. Her PhD resear ...
estimated that it was 200,000. In a survey conducted by the
Indian Readership Survey, the circulation of the magazine was 276,000 in 2013 and 342,000 in 2014.
See also
*
List of magazines in India
This is a list of magazines published in India, sorted on basis of language.
Assamese
* ''Prantik'' - Fortnightly magazine
* '' Gariyoshi'' (গৰীয়সী) - Monthly magazine
* '' Roopkar'' - Monthly magazine
* '' Bismoi'' - Monthl ...
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
*
{{Filmfare Awards
Film magazines published in India
.
Biweekly magazines published in India
Bollywood film awards
Celebrity magazines
English-language magazines published in India
Hindi-language magazines
Mass media in Mumbai
Magazines established in 1952
1952 establishments in Bombay State
Publications of The Times Group