When Indian cinema came into being only Filmfare Awards was the only award-giving event that was annually held. With time the regional films have organised for their own set of award functions. Bengali cinema, too, has its own award functions. There are primarily three Bengali film awards in West Bengal. These are Bengal Film Journalists` Association Awards, Anandalok Awards and Kalakar Awards. Amongst these the Bengal Film Journalists` Association Awards is the oldest.

Bengal FilmJournalists Association Awards is an association of film critics that comprise of the members belonging to the West Bengal Press. It was established in the year 1937. These people give away awards to the film industry. It should not be noted that these awards are not restricted to Bengal cinema. Several film personalities of Indian cinema are awarded with this recognition.

Another set of awards that has become quite popular with the cine lovers is the Anandalok Awards (Puraskar). This is officially sponsored by the Ananda Publishers and Ananda Bazar Patrika, leading media houses of Bengal. Last but not the least the Kalakar Awards include the entire Eastern India. This is one of the biggest events in West Bengal. It started with Shri Ashok Kalanauria almost 23 years ago.

The Bengali film awards are eagerly awaited by the cine goers. In the contemporary Bengali filmdom these award ceremonies are star studded events. Hence the Bengali film awards attract a large number of audiences.