Filmfare Best Director Award Filmfare Best Director Award

Cover of Ghayal

The reins of a movie is in hands of director, therefore for their recognition in the Hindi film industry every Filmfare Best Director Award is presented. It was first presented in the year 1954.

Bimal Roy who has directed films such as ‘Do Bigha Zameen’, ‘Parineeta’, ‘Biraj Bahu’ has won the maximum number of Best Director Filmfare awards. He has won in total seven awards which resulted from exactly seven nominations. Following him were directors Raj Kapoor and Yash Chopra who have won 4 awards. Director Mahesh Bhatt has been nominated six times but could not win the award.

Among the female directors, Sai Paranjpye is the only women who have won the Best Director award for her movie 'Sparsh'. Other women directors who have been nominated for the awards are Mira Nair and Farah Khan.

Let’s have a look at Filmfare Best directors Award from 1990s-

1990 Vidhu Vinod Chopra - Parinda

1991 Rajkumar Santoshi - Ghayal

1992 Subhash Ghai - Saudagar

1993 Mukul S. Anand - Khuda Gawah

1994 Rajkumar Santoshi - Damini

1995 Sooraj Barjatya - Hum Aapke Hain Koun...!

1996 Aditya Chopra - Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge

1997 Shekhar Kapur - Bandit Queen

1998 J.P. Dutta - Border

1999 Karan Johar - Kuch Kuch Hota Hai

2000 Sanjay Leela Bhansali - Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam

2001 Rakesh Roshan - Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai

2002 Ashutosh Gowariker - Lagaan

2003 Sanjay Leela Bhansali - Devdas

2004 Rakesh Roshan - Koi... Mil Gaya

2005 Kunal Kohli - Hum Tum

2006 Sanjay Leela Bhansali - Black

2007 Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra - Rang De Basanti

2008 Aamir Khan - Taare Zameen Par

2009 Ashutosh Gowariker - Jodhaa Akbar

Best Directors at Filmfare Awards

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The Filmfare Best Director Award is one of the Popular Award presented by the magazine Filmfare to the directors working in the Indian film Industry. It is a part of the magazine's annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films and was first presented in 1954 in the inaugral year.


Bimal Roy leads the winners with seven Best Director Filmfare awards, followed by Raj Kapoor and Yash Chopra, with four in kitty. Chopra has the most nominations, 12, followed by Roy with 7, and Raj Kapoor, Gulzar, Subhash Ghai and Mahesh Bhatt with 6 nominations each.

Sai Paranjpye is the only woman to have ever won the Best Director award. She won it for Sparsh in 1985. Paranjpye had earlier been nominated for Chashme Buddoor in 1982. Other women directors to have been nominated are Mira Nair for Salaam Bombay! in 1990 and Farah Khan for Main Hoon Na in 2005 and for Om Shanti Om in 2008.

Bimal Roy also has the distinction of winning the award thrice in a row, on two separate occasions (1954-1956 and 1959-1961). Mahesh Bhatt is the only other director to have been nominated thrice in a row (1984-1986). Also, no director has ever won if he/she has been nominated twice in the same year - Gulzar in 1974, Basu Chatterjee in 1977 and Hrishikesh Mukherjee in 1980.