DPIFF Awards 2023 celebrate cinema at star-studded affair

- ADVERTISEMENT -

The Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Awards (DPIFF) 2023 (not to be confused with the single Dadasaheb Phalke award given annually by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting) “celebrated the splendor of cinema”, as they put it, on February 20 at Mumbai’s Taj Lands End Hotel.

Some of the best creative minds in the film and television industry were felicitated on the occasion, paying homage to the craft of filmmaking pioneered in India by Dadasaheb Phalke.

Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Awards 2023 was the culmination of creative endeavors with Cinematic Tourism as the theme. With musical performances by Mohit Chauhan and Harmony of the Pines (the Himachal Pradesh Police Orchestra), the evening celebrated the grand history and legacy of entertainment in India. Ronit Roy and Shreyas Talpade were the hosts for the evening.

Rekha was felicitated for her Outstanding Contribution to the Film Industry, with singer Alamelu Hariharan being lauded for his Outstanding Contribution to the Music Industry.

Ranbir Kapoor bagged the coveted Best Actor award for his outstanding performance in Brahmastra: Part One—Shiva, while Alia Bhatt took home the Best Actress for Gangubai Kathiawadi. RRR, the blockbuster that is making waves all around the world, was awarded Film of the Year, with The Kashmir Files taking home the Best Film award, which the team dedicated to all the victims of terrorism. R. Balakrishnan (R. Balki) won the Best Director for Chup—Revenge of the Artist. P.S. Vinod won Best Cinematographer for Vikram Vedha.

Varun Dhawan (Bhediya) and Vidya Balan (Jalsa) respectively received the Critics’ Best Actor and Critics’ Best Actress awards. Dulquer Salmaan won Best Actor in a Negative Role for Chup—Revenge of the Artist, while Mouni Roy bagged an award for Best Actress in a Negative Role for Brahmastra: Part One—Shiva again. Sheea Chaddha for Doctor G was the Best Supporting Actress, and the corresponding Male award went to Maniesh Paul for Jug Jugg Jeeyo.

Anupam Kher won the Most Versatile Actor of the Year award for The Kashmir Files, Kartikeya 2 and Uunchai. Rishabh Shetty for Kantara was declared the Most Promising Actor.

Neeti Mohan took home the Best Playback Singer: Female for Meri jaan from Gangubai Kathiawadi. Sachet Tandon, who bagged Best Playback Singer: Male, took to the stage with composing partner and wife Parampara Tandon to accept the award, impressing the audiences with a few lines of their song Maiyya mainu (Jersey).

Rudra: The Edge of Darkness, featuring Ajay Devgn, was the Best Web Series. The Best Actress in a Web Series was Shefali Shah for Delhi Crime 2 and Jim Sarbh won the Best Actor in a Web Series for Rocket Boys. There was no award in any other category for the Web, including Best Director, Writer and so on.

Tejasswi Prakash clinched the trophy for Best Actress in a television series for her performance in Naagin 6. The Bigg Boss 15 winner trended on Twitter as she came on stage to receive the prestigious award. The Best Actor in a Television Series was Zain Imam for Fanaa—Ishq Mein Marjawaan. Anupamaa was the Television Series of the Year. Rupali Ganguly won the Most Versatile Actress in a Television Series for Anupamaa. Again, there was no award in any other behind-the-screen category.

DPIFF embarked on a journey through the annals of the silver screen, honoring the diversity of India and saluting the spectacular talent of the land. DPIFF not only saluted celebrated industry dignitaries but also toasted the work of aspiring, young and independent filmmakers.

Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Awards is India’s only independent international film festival. DPIFF aims to felicitate those artistes of the film fraternity who have put in their hard work and have shown true promise, along with the dedication to excel. The mission, as always, is to cultivate and promote the art and science of film through education and cross-cultural awareness. The team believes that the medium of cinema as well as TV series are art forms that hold the power to bridge cultures and illuminate the universality of the human experience.

But despite these lofty ambitions, no awards for given for Best Music, Best Lyrics, Best Story, Screenplay and Dialogues, Production Design, Editing, Action, Choreography and VFX in cinema, along with the lacunae mentioned for Web and TV.

Wonder why!