The Filmfare Awards are presented annually by The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Hindi language film industry of India. The Filmfare ceremony is one of the oldest film events in India.[1][2][3] The awards were first introduced in 1954, the same year as the National Film Awards. They were initially referred to as the Clare Awards or The Clares after Clare Mendonca, the editor of The Times of India. A dual voting system was developed in 1956. Under this system, in contrast to the National Film Awards, which are decided by a panel appointed by Indian Government, the Filmfare Awards are voted on by both the public and a committee of experts.
The ceremony had been sponsored by various private organisations in the past as well as in present provisions. During several years in 1990s, a live ceremony was broadcast to television audiences but was later discontinued due to unknown reasons. Presently, a recorded and an edited version of the awards ceremony is televised on SET a week or two after the ceremony has been held.
