The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India.[1] The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India.[2] The awards were first introduced by the Filmfare magazine of The Times Group 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 the Indian Government, the Filmfare Awards are voted on by both the public and a committee of experts. The ceremony has been sponsored by various private organisations in the past as well as in present provisions. During several years in the 1990s, a live ceremony was broadcast to television audiences but was later discontinued due to unknown reasons.