Showing posts with label Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival. Show all posts
Dadasaheb Phalke’s grandson Chandrashekhar Pusalkar refuses to attend DPIFF: "There are two FIRs against them"
3:33 PM
Mohanlal was felicitated with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award at the 2025 National Film Awards
Upala KBR (MID-DAY; November 1, 2025)
The Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival (DPIFF) Awards 2025 was held on October 30 in Worli, Mumbai. Chandrashekhar Pusalkar, Phalke’s grandson, says that while he was invited to the 13th edition, he refused to attend it. His reason is simple — he doesn’t recognize the gala, which is accused of misusing Phalke’s name and misleading government bodies.
Pusalkar tells mid-day, “There are two FIRs against them. How can they hold an event after all that has happened? They were after me to attend the event, but I declined. I was told that my grandson and niece accepted the invitation.”
Reportedly founded in 2012, the DPIFF honoured prominent names like Shah Rukh Khan, Rani Mukerji, and Kareena Kapoor Khan over the years. In February 2025, the Bandra Police registered a case against organizers Anil and Abhishek Mishra for allegedly misleading people by claiming that their event is an official government programme and securing sponsorship from several state tourism departments (Father-son duo booked for allegedly misusing Phalke award name, Feb 7). The Bombay High Court stayed the investigation, with the matter scheduled for hearing on November 7.
The event’s name is strikingly similar to the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, which is given by the government and is India’s highest honour in movies. The award — named after the Father of Indian cinema — is presented annually at the National Film Awards.
Pusalkar adds, “I will not attend any Dadasaheb Phalke Awards event, except the one organized by the government. Nobody should use my grandfather’s name, except the government.”
Father-son duo booked for allegedly misusing Dadasaheb Phalke award name
9:35 AM
Cops book founder and son of Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Awards show for allegedly misleading govt bodies for sponsorships
Shirish Vaktania (MID-DAY; February 7, 2025)
The Bandra police have booked a father-son duo for allegedly misleading people by claiming that their event—the Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival (DPIFF) Award—is an official government programme. According to the FIR, Anil Mishra and his son Abhishek allegedly used WhatsApp calls and messages to convince people to obtain sponsorships from multiple companies.
They have been accused of securing sponsorships from state tourism departments of UP, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab and Maharashtra, as well as from many PSUs and insurance companies. They also falsely claimed that film actors would be “star guests” at the two-day event, which was to be held at a five-star hotel in Bandra. The event was to be held at the hotel Taj Lands End in Bandra, with permission from Bandra police, Bandra traffic division, and Rangbhoomi Prayog Parinirikshan Mandal (Scrutiny Board, Government of Maharashtra).
The complainant in the case, Sameer Pandurang Dixit, 57, who is the state president of the Bharatiya Janata Party's film union, said that the Dadasaheb Phalke Award has been organized annually by the Government of India's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for the past 40 years. In 2024, actor Mithun Chakraborty won the award. The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India's highest honour in the field of cinema, presented by the Government of India at the National Film Awards. It is given specifically for outstanding contributions to the growth and development of Indian cinema.
The Bandra police have booked Anil Mishra, director of International Tourism Pvt Ltd, and his son Abhishek, for allegedly hosting the DPIFF Award—a copycat version of the acclaimed Dadasaheb Phalke Award. According to the FIR, the Mishras secured sponsorship from the tourism departments of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab, and Maharashtra, as well as from private companies, nationalised banks, and insurance companies for the event. They were also selling tickets for the event on ‘BookMyShow’ for Rs 2.5 lakh per couple.
Speaking with mid-day, the complainant, Dixit said, “The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India's biggest honour. But this company is organizing a similar event—claiming it is part of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award—where they are giving awards to actors in flop films. They were to hold the event at the five-star Taj Lands End on February 19-20 and had invited a number of celebrities.”
According to Dixit, on May 30, 2024, Anil visited the Bandra police station and secured permission to organise the DPIFF Award function at Taj Lands End. The duo also obtained an NOC from the Bandra traffic division on May 27. “Then on June 10, they obtained permission from the Rangbhoomi Prayog Parinirikshan Mandal to organise the award function. They also did promotions for the event and planned to give gifts to attendees,” Dixit explained.
According to the FIR, Anil posted photos on Instagram and websites claiming that the president, prime minister, home minister, former prime minister—late Manmohan Singh, as well as Tourism Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, were supporting the event and had sent their best wishes for the award function. Anil also mentioned on Instagram that the award was “supported by” the Pradhan Mantri Sangrahalaya and used its logo.
He used the ‘Satyamev Jayate’ logo and claimed he was a member of the Consultative Committee of the Food Corporation of India, even creating visiting cards with this claim. However, according to the FIR, he is not a member of the committee.
Dixit told mid-day: “On August 21, 2024, they submitted an application to the Registrar of Companies to shut down the company. Since 2016, Anil has been organizing this award and misusing the names of government agencies to conduct this event. He not only cheated the government but also cheated people by selling passes for the event on BookMyShow, which are available even today.”
Senior Inspector Sanjay Marathe from Bandra police station said, “We have registered an FIR under sections 318-4 (cheating, dishonestly inducing someone to deliver property) and 319-2 (cheating by personation) of BNS against Anil Mishra and Abhishek Mishra. We have not arrested anyone in this case. We will take action after investigations.” mid-day tried to contact Anil and Abhishek but they didn't respond to calls and text messages. BookMyShow and Taj Lands End refused to comment on the issue.
Phalke’s grandson reacts…
Dadasaheb Phalke’s grandson Chandrashekhar Pusalkar, 74, the son of Phalke’s younger daughter Vrinda, told mid-day, “Now that the FIR is lodged and it has become a police matter, the festival cannot happen.”
Chandrashekhar admits that the organizers of DPIFF used to consult him and ask him for suggestions. “They had a committee. I didn’t know much about the other things. DPIFF was doing it at a very high level. There are other small NGOs as well who do it but I stopped going there because it is not good to go to all events using my grandfather’s name. Some are not using his name properly, there are malpractices.
We are helpless actually. The government must have registrations of all these NGOs. They are all registered, so they [the government] should have asked why is the Phalke name coming up again and again. The government shouldn’t permit these things. Dadasaheb Phalke is a common name… there must be around seven to eight (awards and festivals). There are so many of which I have also not heard about. People keep telling me that there are many such awards and functions in the name of my grandfather. But I don’t have anything under my control. I don’t have the strength—age-wise and or financial—to take action against them. We are old people… we also fear that if we take action, what if someone harms us?”
According to Chandrashekhar, this is because there is a lot of money in organizing these events. “We appeal to the government to take some action. They should audit all these NGOs organizing things in the name of Phalke and decide who should go ahead with these awards and who shouldn’t.”
“It is very frustrating for us as a family. People ask me if these awards are fake but how can I say if they are genuine or fake? I cannot comment on it as I have not seen their papers. People took us for granted saying ‘his grandson has come for the award so everything is transparent’. But I had just gone as a guest, I don’t know what they are doing, where they are from or where they are raising the funds from,” he added.
However, Chandrashekhar says he attended an award in the name of Dadasaheb Phalke in Bangalore because it recognizes talent in Kannada cinema. He said, “It was done by veterans in the Kannada industry so I was very happy. That way there could be some awareness about Phalke’s work.”
When asked for clarity on how he has been associated with DPIFF, he said, “I have attended it (the event). I have been attending it for many years since 2018. I have been going as a jury president.”
- Komal RJ Panchal
Chandrashekhar Pusalkar
Did Bigg Boss 13 contestant Mahira Sharma lie about winning an award or was it a miscommunication?
8:08 AM
Mahira Sharma has landed herself in a controversy. She has been accused by the organisers of the Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival of forging a certificate of appreciation for being the most fashionable contestant of Bigg Boss 13. She calls it a miscommunication
BOMBAY TIMES (February 26, 2020)
It’s not even a fortnight since Bigg Boss 13 came to an end and one of the contestants, TV actress Mahira Sharma already finds herself in the middle of a controversy. The organisers of Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival (DPIFF) have refuted her claims on her Instagram story that she received a certificate of appreciation for being the ‘Most Fashionable Contestant’ on the recently concluded reality show. They also issued an official statement on their Instagram stating that though she attended the ceremony, no such award was given to her. The organisers had sent the actress a notice asking her to take down all the misleading posts and demanded a written apology.
HER SIDE OF THE STORY
Mahira issued a statement on Monday which read: “This is with regards to the statement issued by the social media team of Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival 2020. I would like to inform that the charges made against me for receiving and forging the award is untrue and totally uncalled for. In my defence, I would like to clarify with exact details on what happened that day.
On Thursday, Feb 20, 2020, I was invited for the reputed Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival by Premal Mehta of Purple Fox Media along with Yash Naik, who is an artiste manager for the said award show. They informed us that they have been associated with Dadasaheb Awards for the past two years. My manager Abhinav Tanwar was informed by Mr Mehta that we will be gratified at the event with the title of ‘Most Fashionable Bigg Boss 13 contestant’. At the event, the team of Bigg Boss 13 was called on stage and gratified with a token of appreciation. On questioning about my solo award by my manager to Mr Mehta, he handed over the award to my manager stating that I cannot be called on stage owing to the huge hue and rush on stage. I did my media bytes at the event and later had put a social media story (on my personal Instagram account) to express my love and gratitude. Little did I know that this would turn against me within two days. Since Sunday night I was told that there has been some miscommunication and will be rectified as soon as possible.
I would like to inform that I did not forge any award and would never intend to do so. The managing team of Premal Mehta and Yash Naik have taken the onus of this fiasco completely and have stated that I had nothing to do with it. For everyone’s clarity, I am attaching the mail signed by them which was sent to Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival 2020 management today morning. Also to add, I have all the required proofs and chats on me to prove myself not guilty.
Post an amazing stint with Bigg Boss and having made it to the top seven list, I surely am not intending to look for any PR gimmick of this sort. In the wake of this scenario I would request the managing team of Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival 2020, to please look into the matter.”
DPIFF RESPONDS...
Following Mahira’s post, the authorities of DPIFF responded with an open letter saying, “To address Ms Mahira Sharma’s latest response on the forged DPIFF certification, it is really unappreciated that she still claims that the award has not been forged and is unapologetic about the same.
We believe that being the only official authority of DPIFF award functions, we are in charge of confirming the authority of our awards and certificates. This, however, is unfortunately still unclear to Ms Mahira Sharma. Even now we are looking for an amicable resolution in this regard through an apology which we have asked for Ms Mahira Sharma to post. Even though she has called this incident to be ‘untrue’ we still stand by our claims in this matter and expect her to to share an apology. We shall be patiently waiting for the same.”
So will Mahira issue an apology? Let’s wait and see...
Pics of a fake certificate and an authentic one shared by DPIFF on their social media account
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