# Filmfare Award for Best Director
The Filmfare Award for Best Director is presented annually at the [Filmfare Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/filmfare-awards) to honor a director working in [Hindi cinema](https://www.edgepedia.org/hindi-cinema). It was one of the five categories at the first ceremony, held on 21 March 1954 at Mumbai's Metro Cinema, where [Bimal Roy](https://www.edgepedia.org/bimal-roy) won for *Do Bigha Zameen*.[1](https://www.filmfare.com/news/bollywood/filmfare-flashback-throwback-to-the-first-filmfare-awards-ft-dilip-kumar-and-meena-kumari-77582.amp) • [2](https://www.wileyindia.com/Instructor_Resources/9789357468558/Civilian_Film_and_Literary_Awards.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Direction of a Hindi film, at the annual Filmfare Awards[1](https://www.filmfare.com/news/bollywood/filmfare-flashback-throwback-to-the-first-filmfare-awards-ft-dilip-kumar-and-meena-kumari-77582.amp) |
| First presented | 21 March 1954, Metro Cinema, Mumbai; won by Bimal Roy for *Do Bigha Zameen*[1](https://www.filmfare.com/news/bollywood/filmfare-flashback-throwback-to-the-first-filmfare-awards-ft-dilip-kumar-and-meena-kumari-77582.amp) • [2](https://www.wileyindia.com/Instructor_Resources/9789357468558/Civilian_Film_and_Literary_Awards.pdf) |
| Original name | The Clares, after *The Times of India* critic Clare Mendonca; readers were polled to decide the winners[1](https://www.filmfare.com/news/bollywood/filmfare-flashback-throwback-to-the-first-filmfare-awards-ft-dilip-kumar-and-meena-kumari-77582.amp) |
| First-year field | Five categories only: Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Music Director[1](https://www.filmfare.com/news/bollywood/filmfare-flashback-throwback-to-the-first-filmfare-awards-ft-dilip-kumar-and-meena-kumari-77582.amp) |
| Most recent winner | Kiran Rao, *Laapataa Ladies*, at the 70th Filmfare Awards (October 2025)[3](https://www.filmfare.com/awards/filmfare-awards/winners) • [4](https://www.drishtiias.com/state-pcs-current-affairs/70th-filmfare-awards-2025) |
| Related awards | Best Debut Director; Best Director categories at the Filmfare Awards South, Marathi, Bangla, Punjabi, and OTT ceremonies[5](https://www.filmfare.com/awards/filmfare-ott-awards-2024/terms) • [6](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/malayalam/70th-filmfare-awards-south-winners-list-pushpa-2-amaran-aadujeevitham-win-big-10545383/) |
## Origins
The award belongs to the first edition of the Filmfare Awards, which were introduced in 1954, the same year as the [National Film Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-film-awards). The ceremony was created by *Filmfare* magazine of The Times of India group and was originally named The Clares, after the critic Clare Mendonca. Winners in the first year were decided by a reader poll that drew over 20,000 votes from across the country.[1](https://www.filmfare.com/news/bollywood/filmfare-flashback-throwback-to-the-first-filmfare-awards-ft-dilip-kumar-and-meena-kumari-77582.amp) • [7](https://www.awardsandshows.com/features/filmfare-awards-history-63.html)
Bimal Roy took the inaugural Best Director trophy for *Do Bigha Zameen*, which also won Best Film; the same film won the Prix International at the 1954 Cannes Film Festival and an All India Certificate of Merit at the first National Film Awards.[2](https://www.wileyindia.com/Instructor_Resources/9789357468558/Civilian_Film_and_Literary_Awards.pdf) • [8](https://www.tuliresearchcentre.org/bimal-roy/research-centre/all/magazine-jain-filmfare-english-3-7-02-apr-1954) Roy's standing in the award's early decades is underlined by the Tuli Research Centre's record of his Filmfare Best Director honors across the 1950s.[8](https://www.tuliresearchcentre.org/bimal-roy/research-centre/all/magazine-jain-filmfare-english-3-7-02-apr-1954)
## Winners through the decades
The Filmfare winners archive records mid-century winners including Vijay Anand for *Guide* (1967) and Sohanlal Kanwar for *Be-Imaan* (1973).[3](https://www.filmfare.com/awards/filmfare-awards/winners) Studio records show [Yash Chopra](https://www.edgepedia.org/yash-chopra) winning Best Director for *Waqt*,[9](https://www.yashrajfilms.com/about-us/awards/all-awards/waqt) and [Shyam Benegal](https://www.edgepedia.org/shyam-benegal)'s *Junoon* took the award in 1980.[10](https://www.craftfilmschool.com/userfiles/files/PART-1.pdf) [Sanjay Leela Bhansali](https://www.edgepedia.org/sanjay-leela-bhansali)'s *Black* (2006) set the record for the most Filmfare Awards won by a single film, with 11, though that total spans all categories.[7](https://www.awardsandshows.com/features/filmfare-awards-history-63.html)
**Recent ceremonies.** The 67th Filmfare Awards (2022) named Vishnuvardhan Best Director for *Shershaah*,[11](https://global-uploads.webflow.com/5f6f7a7992bb619fb83011ab/640599d34b57262bbaa32c16_English%20Gyanm%20General%20Awareness%20March%202023.pdf) and the 2023 edition went to Sanjay Leela Bhansali for *Gangubai Kathiawadi*.[12](https://global-uploads.webflow.com/5f6f7a7992bb619fb83011ab/64c8c9b65845992f13b1c039_English%20Gyanm%20General%20Awareness%20August%202023.pdf) At the 70th Hyundai Filmfare Awards 2025 with Gujarat Tourism, held on 11 October 2025 at EKA Arena in [Ahmedabad](https://www.edgepedia.org/ahmedabad) and hosted by [Shah Rukh Khan](https://www.edgepedia.org/shah-rukh-khan), Karan Johar, and Maniesh Paul, Kiran Rao won Best Director for *Laapataa Ladies*, which also won Best Film.[4](https://www.drishtiias.com/state-pcs-current-affairs/70th-filmfare-awards-2025) • [13](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/features/winners-70th-filmfare-awards-2025/) Filmfare's citation praised Rao's compositional restraint, tonal control, and overlapping plotlines.[14](https://www.filmfare.com/awards/filmfare-awards-2025/winners) The same ceremony split Best Actor (Male) between [Abhishek Bachchan](https://www.edgepedia.org/abhishek-bachchan) and Kartik Aaryan and gave Best Debut Director to both Kunal Kemmu (*Madgaon Express*) and Aditya Suhas Jambhale (*Article 370*).[13](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/features/winners-70th-filmfare-awards-2025/)
## Related Filmfare director awards
The Best Director name extends across Filmfare's family of ceremonies. The Filmfare OTT Awards include a Best Director, Series category honoring outstanding directorial work on a streaming series.[5](https://www.filmfare.com/awards/filmfare-ott-awards-2024/terms) At the 70th [Filmfare Awards South](https://www.edgepedia.org/filmfare-awards-south) (February 2026, Kochi), the Best Director winners were Sukumar for *Pushpa 2: The Rule* (Telugu), PS Vinothraj for *Kottukkaali* and Rajkumar Periasamy for *[Amaran](https://www.edgepedia.org/amaran-2024-film)* jointly (Tamil), Prithvi Konanur for *Hadinelentu* (Kannada), and [Rahul Sadasivan](https://www.edgepedia.org/rahul-sadasivan) for *Bramayugam* (Malayalam).[6](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/malayalam/70th-filmfare-awards-south-winners-list-pushpa-2-amaran-aadujeevitham-win-big-10545383/) At the Filmfare Awards Marathi 2026, Shivraj Waichal won Best Director for *Ata Thambaycha Naay!*, the night's biggest winner with six trophies.[15](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/regional/filmfare-awards-marathi-2026-winners-list-ata-thambaycha-naay-6-wins-10821702/) A separate Best Debut Director category tracks first-time filmmakers; its 2025 winners gained producer attention for follow-up projects.[16](https://www.toolsforfilm.com/directory/film-awards/filmfare-awards)
## References
1. [Filmfare Flashback: Throwback to the First Filmfare Awards ft. Dilip Kumar and Meena Kumari, Filmfare.com](https://www.filmfare.com/news/bollywood/filmfare-flashback-throwback-to-the-first-filmfare-awards-ft-dilip-kumar-and-meena-kumari-77582.amp)
2. [Civilian, Film, and Literary Awards, Wiley India](https://www.wileyindia.com/Instructor_Resources/9789357468558/Civilian_Film_and_Literary_Awards.pdf)
3. [Filmfare Awards Winners List (1954–Present), Filmfare.com](https://www.filmfare.com/awards/filmfare-awards/winners)
4. [70th Filmfare Awards 2025, Drishti IAS](https://www.drishtiias.com/state-pcs-current-affairs/70th-filmfare-awards-2025)
5. [Filmfare OTT Awards 2024 – Terms & Conditions, Filmfare.com](https://www.filmfare.com/awards/filmfare-ott-awards-2024/terms)
6. [70th Filmfare Awards South winners list, The Indian Express](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/malayalam/70th-filmfare-awards-south-winners-list-pushpa-2-amaran-aadujeevitham-win-big-10545383/)
7. [Filmfare Awards History, Awards and Shows](https://www.awardsandshows.com/features/filmfare-awards-history-63.html)
8. [Bimal Roy, Tuli Research Centre for India Studies](https://www.tuliresearchcentre.org/bimal-roy/research-centre/all/magazine-jain-filmfare-english-3-7-02-apr-1954)
9. [Waqt – Awards, Yash Raj Films](https://www.yashrajfilms.com/about-us/awards/all-awards/waqt)
10. [Craft Film School, Part 1 (award notes)](https://www.craftfilmschool.com/userfiles/files/PART-1.pdf)
11. [English Gyanm General Awareness, March 2023 (67th Filmfare Awards)](https://global-uploads.webflow.com/5f6f7a7992bb619fb83011ab/640599d34b57262bbaa32c16_English%20Gyanm%20General%20Awareness%20March%202023.pdf)
12. [English Gyanm General Awareness, August 2023 (Filmfare Awards 2023)](https://global-uploads.webflow.com/5f6f7a7992bb619fb83011ab/64c8c9b65845992f13b1c039_English%20Gyanm%20General%20Awareness%20August%202023.pdf)
13. [Winners of the 70th Filmfare Awards 2025, Bollywood Hungama](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/features/winners-70th-filmfare-awards-2025/)
14. [70th Filmfare Awards 2025 Winners: Complete List Out, Filmfare.com](https://www.filmfare.com/awards/filmfare-awards-2025/winners)
15. [Filmfare Awards Marathi 2026 Winners list, The Indian Express](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/regional/filmfare-awards-marathi-2026-winners-list-ata-thambaycha-naay-6-wins-10821702/)
16. [Filmfare Awards directory, Tools for Film](https://www.toolsforfilm.com/directory/film-awards/filmfare-awards)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Awards and screen reference › Indian and South Asian film awards*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license