Filmfare Award for Best Director

Filmfare Award for Best Director
Filmfare Award for Best Director
	The 2021 recipient: Om Raut pictured in 2014
Awarded for	Best Director
Country	India
Presented by	Filmfare
First awarded	Bimal Roy, ; Do Bigha Zamin (1954)
Currently held by	Om Raut; Tanhaji (2021)
Website	Filmfare Awards

The Filmfare Best Director Award is one of the main awards presented given by the annual Filmfare Awards to recognise directors working in the Hindi film Industry. It was first presented in 1954 in the inaugural year.

Superlatives[]

Category	Name	Superlative	Year(s)	Notes
Most Awards	Bimal Roy	7 awards	1954–1964	Awards resulted from 7 nominations
Most Nominations	Yash Chopra	12 nominations	1966–2005	Nominations resulted in 4 awards
Most Nominations without a Win	Mahesh Bhatt	6 nominations	1984–1994	–

Bimal Roy has the record of winning most awards (7) and the distinction of winning the award thrice in a row, on 2 separate occasions (1954–1956 and 1959–1961). He also won the award whenever he was nominated (7/7). Yash Chopra, Raj Kapoor and Sanjay Leela Bhansali have received the award 4 times each. Yash Chopra received 12 nominations, while Raj Kapoor and Sanjay Leela Bhansali have received 6 nominations each. Mahesh Bhatt was nominated thrice in a row (1984–1986). However, he hasn't received any award even after having been nominated 6 times. Also, no director has ever won if one has been nominated twice in the same year – Gulzar in 1974 (for Achanak and Koshish), Basu Chatterjee in 1977 (for Chhoti Si Baat and Chitchor) and Hrishikesh Mukherjee in 1980 (for Gol Maal and Jurmana).

Sai Paranjpye was the first of 4 women to have won this award, the second being Zoya Akhtar, the third being Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, and the fourth being Meghna Gulzar. Sai Paranjpye won it for Sparsh in 1985. Paranjpye had earlier been nominated for Chashme Buddoor in 1982. Zoya Akhtar won it for Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara in 2012. Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari won it for Bareilly Ki Barfi in 2018 and Meghna Gulzar won it in for Raazi in 2019, after previously being nominated in 2016 for Talvar. Akhtar won the award again for Gully Boy in 2020, thus becoming the only woman to win the award twice. Other women directors to have been nominated are Mira Nair for Salaam Bombay! in 1990, Farah Khan for Main Hoon Na in 2005 and for Om Shanti Om in 2008, and Gauri Shinde for English Vinglish in 2013.

Rajkumar Santoshi remains the only director to have won the award for his first two films - for Ghayal in 1991 and for Damini in 1994.

Nitesh Tiwari and Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari are the only married couple to win the award. Additionally, they won the award in consecutive years - Nitesh Tiwari won the award for Dangal in 2017 and Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari won the award for Bareilly Ki Barfi in 2018.

Only once have two siblings been nominated in the same year; Zoya Akhtar for Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and Farhan Akhtar for Don 2 in 2012.

Multiple nominations[]

The following Directors have received multiple Best Director nominations. The list is sorted by the number of total awards (with the number of total nominations listed in parentheses).

7 : Bimal Roy (7)
4 : Yash Chopra (12)
4 : Sanjay Leela Bhansali (7)
4 : Raj Kapoor (6)
2 : Rakesh Roshan (5)
2 : Rajkumar Santoshi (5)
2 : Karan Johar (5)
2 : Ashutosh Gowariker (3)
2 : Manoj Kumar (3)
2 : Zoya Akhtar (2)
2 : Govind Nihalani (2)
2 : Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra (2)
1 : Subhash Ghai (6)
1 : Gulzar (6)
1 : B. R. Chopra (5)
1 : Rajkumar Hirani (5)
1 : Mansoor Khan (4)
1 : Shyam Benegal (3)
1 : Basu Chatterjee (3)
1 : Aditya Chopra (3)
1 : Vidhu Vinod Chopra (3)

1 : Sohanlal Kanwar (3)
1 : Mukul Anand (2)
1 : Sooraj Barjatya (2)
1 : J. P. Dutta (2)
1 : Shekhar Kapur (2)
1 : Mehboob Khan (2)
1 : Sai Paranjpye (2)
1 : Ramanand Sagar (2)
1 : Asit Sen (2)
1 : V. Shantaram (2)
1 : Meghna Gulzar (2)
1 : Nitesh Tiwari (2)
1 : Kunal Kohli (1)
1 : Sujoy Ghosh (1)
1 : Aamir Khan (1)
1 : Vikas Bahl (1)
1 : Om Raut (1)
1 : Vijay Anand (1)
1 : Abrar Alvi (1)
1 : Satyajit Ray (1)
1 : Muzaffar Ali (1)

Winner and nominees[]

In the list below, the winner of the award for each year is shown first, followed by the other nominees. The films are listed by the years when the award was presented. The announcing of nominations became regular after 1959.

1950s[]

1954 Bimal Roy – Do Bigha Zamin
1955 Bimal Roy – Parineeta
1956 Bimal Roy – Biraj Bahu
1957 V. Shantaram – Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje
1958 Mehboob Khan – Mother India
1959 Bimal Roy – Madhumati
- B. R. Chopra – Sadhna
- Mahesh Kaul – Talaaq

1960s[]

1960 Bimal Roy – Sujata
- L. V. Prasad – Chhoti Bahen
- V. Shantaram – Navrang
1961 Bimal Roy – Parakh
- K. Asif – Mughal-e-Azam
- Kishore Sahu – Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai
1962 B. R. Chopra – Kanoon
- Nitin Bose – Gunga Jumna
- Radhu Karmakar – Jis Desh Men Ganga Behti Hai
1963 Abrar Alvi – Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam
- Biren Nag – Bees Saal Baad
- Mehboob Khan – Son of India
1964 Bimal Roy – Bandini
- B. R. Chopra – Gumrah
- C. V. Sridhar – Dil Ek Mandir
1965 Raj Kapoor – Sangam
- Khwaja Ahmad Abbas – Shehar Aur Sapna
- Satyen Bose – Dosti
1966 Yash Chopra – Waqt
- Chetan Anand – Haqeeqat
- Ramanand Sagar – Arzoo
1967 Vijay Anand – Guide
- Asit Sen – Mamta
- Hrishikesh Mukherjee – Anupama
1968 Manoj Kumar – Upkar
- A. Bhimsingh – Mehrban
- A. Subba Rao – Milan
1969 Ramanand Sagar – Ankhen
- – Brahmachari
- – Neel Kamal

1970s[]

1970 Yash Chopra – Ittefaq
- L. V. Prasad – Jeene Ki Raah
- Shakti Samanta – Aradhana
1971 Asit Sen – Safar
- Raj Khosla – Do Raaste
- – Pehchaan
1972 Raj Kapoor – Mera Naam Joker
- Hrishikesh Mukherjee – Anand
- Shakti Samanta – Kati Patang
1973 – Be-Imaan
- Kamal Amrohi – Pakeezah
- Manoj Kumar – Shor
1974 Yash Chopra – Daag
- Gulzar – Achanak
- Gulzar – Koshish
- Raj Kapoor – Bobby
- Rajendra Bhatia – Aaj Ki Taaza Khabar
1975 Manoj Kumar – Roti Kapda Aur Makaan
- Anil Ganguly – Kora Kagaz
- Basu Bhattacharya – Avishkaar
- M. S. Sathyu – Garm Hava
- Shyam Benegal – Ankur
1976 Yash Chopra – Deewaar
- Gulzar – Aandhi
- Ramesh Sippy – Sholay
- Shakti Samanta – Amanush
- – Sanyasi
1977 Gulzar – Mausam
- Basu Chatterjee – Chhoti Si Baat
- Basu Chatterjee – Chitchor
- Rajkumar Kohli – Nagin
- Yash Chopra – Kabhi Kabhie
1978 Basu Chatterjee – Swami
- Asrani – Chala Murari Hero Banne
- Bhimsain – Gharaonda
- Gulzar – Kinara
- Manmohan Desai – Amar Akbar Anthony
1979 Satyajit Ray – Shatranj Ke Khilari
- Prakash Mehra – Muqaddar Ka Sikandar
- Raj Kapoor – Satyam Shivam Sundaram
- Raj Khosla – Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki
- Yash Chopra – Trishul

1980s[]

1980 Shyam Benegal – Junoon
- Hrishikesh Mukherjee – Gol Maal
- Hrishikesh Mukherjee – Jurmana
- Manmohan Krishna – Noorie
- Yash Chopra – Kaala Patthar
1981 Govind Nihalani – Aakrosh
- B. R. Chopra – Insaaf Ka Tarazu
- Esmayeel Shroff – Thodisi Bewafaii
- Hrishikesh Mukherjee – Khubsoorat
- J. Om Prakash – Aasha
1982 Muzaffar Ali – Umrao Jaan
- K. Balachander – Ek Duuje Ke Liye
- – Chakra
- Ramesh Talwar – Baseraa
- Sai Paranjpye – Chashme Buddoor
- Shyam Benegal – Kalyug
1983 Raj Kapoor – Prem Rog
- B. R. Chopra – Nikaah
- Ramesh Sippy – Shakti
- Sagar Sarhadi – Bazaar
- Subhash Ghai – Vidhaata
1984 Govind Nihalani – Ardh Satya
- Mahesh Bhatt – Arth
- Mohan Kumar – Avtaar
- Rahul Rawail – Betaab
- Shekhar Kapur – Masoom
1985 Sai Paranjpye – Sparsh
- Kundan Shah – Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro
- Mahesh Bhatt – Saaransh
- Prakash Mehra – Sharaabi
- Ravi Chopra – Aaj Ki Awaaz
1986 Raj Kapoor – Ram Teri Ganga Maili
- Mahesh Bhatt – Janam
- Rahul Rawail – Arjun
- Ramesh Sippy – Saagar
1987 No Award
1988 No Award
1989 Mansoor Khan – Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak
- N. Chandra – Tezaab
- Rakesh Roshan – Khoon Bhari Maang

1990s[]

1990 Vidhu Vinod Chopra – Parinda
- Mira Nair – Salaam Bombay!
- Sooraj Barjatya – Maine Pyar Kiya
- Subhash Ghai – Ram Lakhan
- Yash Chopra – Chandni
1991 Rajkumar Santoshi – Ghayal
- Mahesh Bhatt – Aashiqui
- Mukul Anand – Agneepath
- Ravi Raja Pinisetty – Pratibandh
1992 Subhash Ghai – Saudagar
- Lawrence D'Souza – Saajan
- Mahesh Bhatt – Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin
- Randhir Kapoor – Henna
- Yash Chopra – Lamhe
1993 Mukul S. Anand – Khuda Gawah
- Indra Kumar – Beta
- Mansoor Khan – Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar
1994 Rajkumar Santoshi – Damini
- David Dhawan – Aankhen
- Mahesh Bhatt – Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke
- Subhash Ghai – Khalnayak
- Yash Chopra – Darr
1995 Sooraj Barjatya – Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!
- Mehul Kumar – Krantiveer
- Rajiv Rai – Mohra
- Rajkumar Santoshi – Andaz Apna Apna
- Vidhu Vinod Chopra – 1942: A Love Story
1996 Aditya Chopra – Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge
- Indra Kumar – Raja
- Mansoor Khan – Akele Hum Akele Tum
- Rakesh Roshan – Karan Arjun
- Ram Gopal Varma – Rangeela
1997 Shekhar Kapur – Bandit Queen
- Dharmesh Darshan – Raja Hindustani
- Gulzar – Maachis
- Partho Ghosh – Agni Sakshi
- Rajkumar Santoshi – Ghatak
1998 J. P. Dutta – Border
- Priyadarshan – Virasat
- Rajiv Rai – Gupt
- Subhash Ghai – Pardes
- Yash Chopra – Dil To Pagal Hai
1999 Karan Johar – Kuch Kuch Hota Hai
- Abbas-Mustan – Soldier
- Ram Gopal Varma – Satya
- Sohail Khan – Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya
- Vikram Bhatt – Ghulam

2000s[]

2000 Sanjay Leela Bhansali – Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam
- David Dhawan – Biwi No.1
- John Matthew Matthan – Sarfarosh
- Mahesh Manjrekar – Vaastav
- Subhash Ghai – Taal
2001 Rakesh Roshan – Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai
- Aditya Chopra – Mohabbatein
- Dharmesh Darshan – Dhadkan
- Mansoor Khan – Josh
- Vidhu Vinod Chopra – Mission Kashmir
2002 Ashutosh Gowariker – Lagaan
- Anil Sharma – Gadar: Ek Prem Katha
- Farhan Akhtar – Dil Chahta Hai
- Karan Johar – Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham...
- Santosh Sivan – Asoka
2003 Sanjay Leela Bhansali – Devdas
- Abbas-Mustan – Humraaz
- Ram Gopal Varma – Company
- Sanjay Gupta – Kaante
- Vikram Bhatt – Raaz
2004 Rakesh Roshan – Koi... Mil Gaya
- J. P. Dutta – LOC Kargil
- Nikhil Advani – Kal Ho Naa Ho
- Rajkumar Hirani – Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.
- Ram Gopal Varma – Bhoot
- Satish Kaushik – Tere Naam
2005 Kunal Kohli – Hum Tum
- Ashutosh Gowariker – Swades
- Farah Khan – Main Hoon Na
- Farhan Akhtar – Lakshya
- Rajkumar Santoshi – Khakee
- Yash Chopra – Veer-Zaara
2006 Sanjay Leela Bhansali – Black
- Madhur Bhandarkar – Page 3
- Nagesh Kukunoor – Iqbal
- Pradeep Sarkar – Parineeta
- Ram Gopal Varma – Sarkar
2007 Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra – Rang De Basanti
- Karan Johar – Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna
- Rajkumar Hirani – Lage Raho Munna Bhai
- Rakesh Roshan – Krrish
- Sanjay Gadhvi – Dhoom 2
- Vishal Bhardwaj – Omkara
2008 Aamir Khan – Taare Zameen Par
- Anurag Basu – Life in a... Metro
- Farah Khan – Om Shanti Om
- Imtiaz Ali – Jab We Met
- Mani Ratnam – Guru
- Shimit Amin – Chak De! India
2009 Ashutosh Gowariker – Jodhaa Akbar
- A. R. Murugadoss – Ghajini
- Abhishek Kapoor – Rock On!!
- Aditya Chopra – Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi
- Madhur Bhandarkar – Fashion
- Neeraj Pandey – A Wednesday!

2010s[]

2010 Rajkumar Hirani – 3 Idiots
- Anurag Kashyap – Dev.D
- Ayan Mukerji – Wake Up Sid
- Imtiaz Ali – Love Aaj Kal
- R. Balki – Paa
- Vishal Bhardwaj – Kaminey
2011 Karan Johar – My Name Is Khan
- Abhinav Kashyap – Dabangg
- Manish Sharma – Band Baaja Baaraat
- Sanjay Leela Bhansali – Guzaarish
- Vikramaditya Motwane – Udaan
2012 Zoya Akhtar – Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
- Abhinay Deo – Delhi Belly
- Farhan Akhtar – Don 2
- Imtiaz Ali – Rockstar
- Milan Luthria – The Dirty Picture
- Raj Kumar Gupta – No One Killed Jessica
2013 Sujoy Ghosh – Kahaani
- Anurag Basu – Barfi!
- Anurag Kashyap – Gangs of Wasseypur
- Gauri Shinde – English Vinglish
- Shoojit Sircar – Vicky Donor
2014 Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra – Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
- Abhishek Kapoor – Kai Po Che!
- Anand L. Rai – Raanjhanaa
- Ayan Mukerji – Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani
- Rohit Shetty – Chennai Express
- Sanjay Leela Bhansali – Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela
2015 Vikas Bahl – Queen
- Abhishek Varman – 2 States
- Anurag Kashyap – Ugly
- Rajkumar Hirani – PK
- Vishal Bhardwaj – Haider
2016 Sanjay Leela Bhansali – Bajirao Mastani
- Anand L. Rai – Tanu Weds Manu Returns
- Kabir Khan – Bajrangi Bhaijaan
- Meghna Gulzar – Talvar
- Shoojit Sircar – Piku
- Sriram Raghavan – Badlapur
2017 Nitesh Tiwari – Dangal
- Abhishek Chaubey – Udta Punjab
- Ali Abbas Zafar – Sultan
- Karan Johar – Ae Dil Hai Mushkil
- Ram Madhvani - Neerja
- Shakun Batra - Kapoor & Sons
2018 Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari – Bareilly Ki Barfi
- Advait Chandan - Secret Superstar
- Saket Chaudhary – Hindi Medium
- Shashank Khaitan – Badrinath Ki Dulhania
- Shree Narayan Singh - Toilet: Ek Prem Katha
2019 Meghna Gulzar – Raazi
- Amar Kaushik - Stree
- Amit Sharma – Badhaai Ho
- Rajkumar Hirani – Sanju
- Sanjay Leela Bhansali – Padmaavat
- Sriram Raghavan – Andhadhun

2020s[]

2020 Zoya Akhtar – Gully Boy
- Aditya Dhar – Uri: The Surgical Strike
- Jagan Shakti – Mission Mangal
- Nitesh Tiwari – Chhichhore
- Siddharth Anand – War
2021 Om Raut – Tanhaji
- Anurag Basu - Ludo
- Anubhav Sinha - Thappad
- Sharan Sharma - Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl
- Shoojit Sircar - Gulabo Sitabo

External links[]

Filmfare Awards Best Director

v t Filmfare Awards
Category History of film
Merit awards	Best Film Director Actor Actress Supporting Actor Supporting Actress Best Performance in a Negative Role Best Performance in a Comic Role Male Debut Female Debut Debut Director Music Director Lyricist Male Playback Singer Female Playback Singer
Critics' awards	Best Film Best Actor Best Actress Documentary
Technical awards	Story Screenplay Dialogue Action Art Direction Background Score Cinematography Editing Choreography Sound Design Special Effects Costume Design
Special awards	Lifetime Achievement RD Burman Award Special Award New Face of the Year Scene of the Year Power Award
Award ceremonies	1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
The Times Group Filmfare Records and facts South Awards Bengali Awards Marathi Awards Punjabi Awards OTT Awards Short Film Awards Filmfare Awards Category

v t Filmfare Award for Best Director
1954–1970	Bimal Roy (1954) Bimal Roy (1955) Bimal Roy (1956) V. Shantaram (1957) Mehboob Khan (1958) Bimal Roy (1959) Bimal Roy (1960) Bimal Roy (1961) B. R. Chopra (1962) Abrar Alvi (1963) Bimal Roy (1964) Raj Kapoor (1965) Yash Chopra (1966) Vijay Anand (1967) Manoj Kumar (1968) Ramanand Sagar (1969) Yash Chopra (1970)
1971–1990	Asit Sen (1971) Raj Kapoor (1972) Sohanlal Kanwar (1973) Yash Chopra (1974) Manoj Kumar (1975) Yash Chopra (1976) Gulzar (1977) Basu Chatterjee (1978) Satyajit Ray (1979) Shyam Benegal (1980) Govind Nihalani (1981) Muzaffar Ali (1982) Raj Kapoor (1983) Govind Nihalani (1984) Sai Paranjpye (1985) Raj Kapoor (1986) Mansoor Khan (1989) Vidhu Vinod Chopra (1990)
1991–2010	Rajkumar Santoshi (1991) Subhash Ghai (1992) Mukul S. Anand (1993) Shekhar Kapur (1994) Sooraj Barjatya (1995) Aditya Chopra (1996) Rajkumar Santoshi (1997) J. P. Dutta (1998) Karan Johar (1999) Sanjay Leela Bhansali (2000) Rakesh Roshan (2001) Ashutosh Gowariker (2002) Sanjay Leela Bhansali (2003) Rakesh Roshan (2004) Kunal Kohli (2005) Sanjay Leela Bhansali (2006) Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra (2007) Aamir Khan (2008) Ashutosh Gowariker (2009) Rajkumar Hirani (2010)
2011-present	Karan Johar (2011) Zoya Akhtar (2012) Sujoy Ghosh (2013) Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra (2014) Vikas Bahl (2015) Sanjay Leela Bhansali (2016) Nitesh Tiwari (2017) Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari (2018) Meghna Gulzar (2019) Zoya Akhtar (2020) Om Raut (2021)