The 31st Filmfare Awards were held in 1984, with the Indian New Wave Cinema at its peak.

Betaab and Masoom led the ceremony with 8 nominations each, followed by Arth with 7 nominations and Ardh Satya with 6 nominations.

Ardh Satya and Masoom, both notable films of the Parallel Cinema genre, won 5 awards each, thus becoming the most-awarded films at the ceremony, with the former winning Best Film, Best Director (for Govind Nihalani) and Best Supporting Actor (for Sadashiv Amrapurkar), and the latter winning Best Actor (for Naseeruddin Shah).

Shabana Azmi set an unmatched record, becoming the only performer to receive 4 nominations for an award in a single year, earning 4 nominations for Best Actress for her performances in Arth, Avtaar, Mandi and Masoom, winning the award for Arth.

Naseeruddin Shah received dual nominations for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in Katha and Mandi, but lost to Sadashiv Amrapurkar who won the award for Ardh Satya.

Main awards

Best Film

Ardh Satya

• Arth
• Avtaar
• Betaab
• Masoom

Best Director

Govind Nihalani – Ardh Satya

• Mahesh Bhatt – Arth
• Mohan Kumar – Avtaar
• Rahul Rawail – Betaab
• Shekhar Kapoor – Masoom

Best Actor

Naseeruddin Shah – Masoom

• Kamal Haasan – Sadma
• Om Puri – Ardh Satya
• Rajesh Khanna – Avtaar
• Sunny Deol – Betaab

Best Actress

Shabana Azmi – Arth

• Shabana Azmi – Avtaar
• Shabana Azmi – Mandi
• Shabana Azmi – Masoom
• Sridevi – Sadma

Best Supporting Actor

Sadashiv Amrapurkar – Ardh Satya

• Amitabh Bachchan – Andha Kanoon
• Naseeruddin Shah – Katha
• Naseeruddin Shah – Mandi
• Raj Babbar – Agar Tum Na Hote

Best Supporting Actress

Rohini Hattangadi – Arth

• Padmini Kolhapure – Souten
• Rekha – Mujhe Insaaf Chahiye
• Smita Patil – Arth
• Smita Patil – Mandi

Best Comic Actor

Utpal Dutt – Rang Birangi

• Deven Verma – Rang Birangi
• Dharmendra – Naukar Biwi Ka
• Kader Khan – Himmatwala
• Shakti Kapoor – Mawaali

Best Story

Ardh Satya – S.D. Panwalkar

• Arth – Mahesh Bhatt
• Avtaar – Mohan Kumar
• Betaab – Javed Akhtar
• Sadma – Balu Mahendra

Best Screenplay

Ardh Satya – Vijay Tendulkar

Best Dialogue

Arth – Mahesh Bhatt

Best Music Director

Masoom – R.D. Burman

• Betaab – R.D. Burman
• Hero – Laxmikant–Pyarelal
• Razia Sultan – Khayyam
• Souten – Usha Khanna

Best Lyricist

Masoom – Gulzar for Tujhse Naraaz Nahin

• Agar Tum Na Hote – Gulshan Bawra for Agar Tum Na Hote
• Betaab – Anand Bakshi for Jab Hum Jawaan Honge
• Souten – Saawan Kumar for Shayad Meri Shaadi Ka Khayal
• Souten – Saawan Kumar for Zindagi Pyaar Ka Geet

Best Playback Singer, Male

Agar Tum Na Hote – Kishore Kumar for Agar Tum Na Hote

• Betaab – Shabbir Kumar for Jab Hum Jawaan Honge
• Betaab – Shabbir Kumar for Parbaton Se Aaj
• Ek Jaan Hain Hum – Shabbir Kumar for Yaad Teri Aayegi
• Souten – Kishore Kumar for Shayad Meri Shaadi Ka Khayal

Best Playback Singer, Female

Masoom – Aarti Mukherjee for Do Naina Ek Kahani

• Hero – Anuradha Paudwal for Tu Mera Hero Hai
• Laal Chunariya – Chandrani Mukherjee for Aaja Ke Teri Raahon Mein

Best Art Direction

Razia Sultan

Best Cinematography

Vijeta

Best Sound

Vijeta

Best Editing

Vijeta

Critics' awards

Best Film

Masoom

Best Documentary

Veer Savarkar

Most Wins

• Ardh Satya – 5/6
• Masoom – 5/8
• Vijeta – 3/3
• Arth – 3/7
• Betaab – 0/8