The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is an annual award given by the Indian government for lifetime contribution to Indian cinema. The award is named after Dadasaheb Phalke (Dhundiraj Govind Phalke). He is known as the father of Indian cinema. The award was instituted in the annual National Awards in 1969, the birth centenary year of Dadasaheb Phalke, to honour his invaluable contribution to Indian cinema.
| No. | Year | Winner | Occupation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 41 | 2009 | Manoj Kumar | Actor, Director |
| 40 | 2008 | VK Murthy | Cinematographer |
| 39 | 2007 | Manna Dey | Singer |
| 38 | 2006 | Tapan Sinha | Director |
| 37 | 2005 | Shyam Benegal | Director |
| 36 | 2004 | Adoor Gopalakrishnan | Director |
| 35 | 2003 | Mrinal Sen | Director |
| 34 | 2002 | Dev Anand | Actor, Director, Producer |
| 33 | 2001 | Yash Chopra | Director, Producer |
| 32 | 2000 | Asha Bhosle | Singer |
| 31 | 1999 | Hrishikesh Mukherjee | Director |
| 30 | 1998 | B.R. Chopra | Director, Producer |
| 29 | 1997 | Pradeep | Lyricist |
| 28 | 1996 | Sivaji Ganesan | Actor |
| 27 | 1995 | Rajkumar | Actor |
| 26 | 1994 | Dilip Kumar | Actor |
| 25 | 1993 | Majrooh Sultanpuri | Lyricist |
| 24 | 1992 | Bhupen Hazarika | Composer (Music Director) |
| 23 | 1991 | Bhalji Pendharkar | Director, Producer, Writer |
| 22 | 1990 | Akkineni Nageswara Rao | Actor |
| 21 | 1989 | Lata Mangeshkar | Singer |
| 20 | 1988 | Ashok Kumar | Actor |
| 19 | 1987 | Raj Kapoor | Actor, Director |
| 18 | 1986 | B. Nagi Reddy | Producer |
| 17 | 1985 | V. Shantaram | Actor, Director, Producer |
| 16 | 1984 | Satyajit Ray | Director |
| 15 | 1983 | Durga Khote | Actress |
| 14 | 1982 | L. V. Prasad | Actor, Director, Producer |
| 13 | 1981 | Naushad Ali | Composer (Music Director) |
| 12 | 1980 | Paidi Jairaj | Actor, Director |
| 11 | 1979 | Sohrab Modi | Actor, Director, Producer |
| 10 | 1978 | Rai Chand Boral | Composer, Director |
| 9 | 1977 | Nitin Bose | Cinematographer, Director, Writer, |
| 8 | 1976 | Kanan Devi | Actress |
| 7 | 1975 | Dhirendranath Ganguly | Actor, Director |
| 6 | 1974 | Bomireddi Narasimha Reddy | Director |
| 5 | 1973 | Ruby Myers (Sulochana) | Actress |
| 4 | 1972 | Pankaj Mullick | Composer (Music Director) |
| 3 | 1971 | Prithviraj Kapoor | Actor (posthumous) |
| 2 | 1970 | B. N. Sircar | Producer |
| 1 | 1969 | Devika Rani | Actress |