Who was the first lady to receive India's prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award for outstanding contribution to Indian cinema?

Introduction / Context:
The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India's highest official honour in the field of cinema, given for lifetime contribution to the growth and development of Indian film. This question focuses on a key historical fact about the first woman to receive this award, which is an important static general knowledge point for many competitive exams and interviews related to Indian culture and cinema history.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The award in question is the Dadasaheb Phalke Award.
• We are asked about the first lady recipient.
• The options list four well-known women connected with cinema or theatre.

Concept / Approach:
To answer the question, you must recall the chronological recipients of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award and know specifically which woman received it first. The award was instituted in 1969 and, notably, the very first recipient that year was the legendary actress and producer Devika Rani. Because she herself was the first recipient of the award, she is automatically the first woman recipient as well. Therefore, among the given options, Devika Rani Roerich is the correct answer.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Remember that the Dadasaheb Phalke Award is given annually by the Government of India for lifetime contribution to Indian cinema.Step 2: Recall historical fact: the award was first presented in 1969.Step 3: The first recipient was Devika Rani, a pioneering actress and studio head associated with Bombay Talkies.Step 4: Since she was both the first recipient and a woman, she automatically counts as the first lady to receive the award.Step 5: Among the options, Devika Rani Roerich matches this fact, so we select her as the correct answer.

Verification / Alternative check:
Another way to verify is to associate Devika Rani with early Indian cinema in the 1930s and 1940s and her role at Bombay Talkies. Standard static GK compilations and government sources list her as the first Dadasaheb Phalke Award winner in 1969. No other female personality precedes her in the award list, so she is clearly the first lady recipient.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• Nargis Dutt: A legendary actress and a National Film Award winner, but she was not the first woman to receive the Dadasaheb Phalke Award.
• Savitri Ganesh: A renowned South Indian actress, but she never figures as the first recipient of this particular award.
• Dina Pathak: A respected theatre and film actress, but not associated with the earliest years of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award.

Common Pitfalls:
Students often confuse “famous actress” with “first awardee” and may guess Nargis because of her iconic status. Another mistake is to think that the award might have gone first to a male stalwart and that the first woman was honoured much later, without checking the actual list of awardees. The key is to remember that Devika Rani was honoured in the very first year itself, making her both the first recipient and the first woman recipient.

Final Answer:
The first lady to receive the Dadasaheb Phalke Award was Devika Rani Roerich.