South Asian cinema refers to the cinema

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

 of India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

, Bangladesh

Bangladesh

Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...

, Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

, Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

, Nepal

Nepal

Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...

, Bhutan

Bhutan

Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...

 and the Maldives

Maldives

The Maldives , , officially Republic of Maldives , also referred to as the Maldive Islands, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean formed by a double chain of twenty-six atolls oriented north-south off India's Lakshadweep islands, between Minicoy Island and...

.
The terms Asian cinema, Eastern cinema and Oriental cinema in common usage often encompass South Asia

South Asia

South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...

 as well as East Asia

East Asia

East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...

 and South East Asia. See also Asian cinema

Asian cinema

Asian cinema refers to the film industries and films produced in the continent of Asia, and is also sometimes known as Eastern cinema. More commonly however, it is used to refer to the cinema of Eastern, Southeastern and Southern Asia. West Asian cinema is sometimes classified as part of Middle...

, East Asian cinema

East Asian cinema

East Asian cinema is a term used to refer to the film industry and films produced in and/or by natives of East Asia. It can be seen as a sub-section of Asian cinema, which in turn is a sub-section of world cinema, a catchall term used in the English-speaking world to refer to all foreign language...

 and Southeast Asian cinema

Southeast Asian cinema

Southeast Asian cinema refers to the film industry and films produced in, and/or by natives of, Southeast Asia. By definition, it describes any films produced in Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.Southeast Asian cinema...

.

Styles and genres

The scope of South Asian cinema is huge and takes in a wide array of different film styles

Film styles

Film styles are recognizable film techniques used by filmmakers to give specific meaning or value to their work. It can include all aspects in making a film: sound, mise-en-scene, dialogue, cinematography, or attitude.-Style and the director:...

, linguistic regions and genres. South Asian cinema is particularly famous in the West for:

• Masala films
  Masala (film genre)
  Masala is a term given to films of Indian cinema that mix various genres in one film. Typically these films freely mix action, comedy, romance, and drama or melodrama. These films tend to be musicals that include songs filmed in picturesque locations...
  
  
  • Action films
  • Curry Westerns
  • Escapism
    Escapism
    Escapism is mental diversion by means of entertainment or recreation, as an "escape" from the perceived unpleasant or banal aspects of daily life...
    
    
  • Musicals
    Musical film
    The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
    
    
  • Romance film
    Romance film
    Romance films are love stories that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate involvement of the main characters and the journey that their love takes through courtship or marriage. Romance films make the love story or the search for love the main plot focus...
    
    s
• Parallel Cinema
  Parallel Cinema
  The Indian New Wave, commonly known in India as Art Cinema or Parallel Cinema as an alternative to the mainstream commercial cinema, is a specific movement in Indian cinema, known for its serious content, realism and naturalism, with a keen eye on the sociopolitical climate of the times...
  
  
  • Art film
    Art film
    An art film is the result of filmmaking which is typically a serious, independent film aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience...
    
    s
  • Mumbai noir
  • Neorealism
    Neorealism (art)
    In art, neorealism was established by the ex-Camden Town Group painters Charles Ginner and Harold Gilman at the beginning of World War I. They set out to explore the spirit of their age through the shapes and colours of daily life...
    
    
• Heroic bloodshed
  Heroic bloodshed
  Heroic Bloodshed is a genre of Hong Kong action cinema revolving around stylized action sequences and dramatic themes such as brotherhood, duty, honour, redemption and violence. The term heroic bloodshed was coined by editor Rick Baker in the magazine Eastern Heroes in the late 1980s, specifically...
  
  
• Historical drama
  Historical drama film
  The historical drama is a film genre in which stories are based upon historical events and famous persons. Some historical dramas attempt to accurately portray a historical event or biography, to the degree that the available historical research will allow...
  
  

Regional industries

India contains many state languages which have film industries centered around them. Although Hindi

Hindi

Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...

 is the official language of government business, its often-used dialect Hindustani

Hindustani language

Hindi-Urdu is an Indo-Aryan language and the lingua franca of North India and Pakistan. It is also known as Hindustani , and historically, as Hindavi or Rekhta...

 is the most widespread language but covering only 40% of the total population, and English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 is widely understood irrespective of region, the state languages are preserved for official use by different states in India, and many have as many speakers as an average European nation.Telugu Cinema

Telugu cinema

The Cinema of Andhra Pradesh, also referred to as Telugu Cinema or Tollywood, is the Telugu film industry in India. The Telugu language film industry is known for being one of the three largest in terms of no.of films produced yearly in India. The Prasads IMAX theatre in Hyderabad is one of the...

, Bengali

West Bengal

West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...

 cinema and Tamil

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...

 cinema, malayalam

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

 cinema, in particular are highly successful industries, Bengal having produced Satyajit Ray

Satyajit Ray

Satyajit Ray was an Indian Bengali filmmaker. He is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema. Ray was born in the city of Kolkata into a Bengali family prominent in the world of arts and literature...

, Ritwik Ghatak, Mrinal Sen , Buddhadeb Dasgupta, Kerala having produced Santosh Sivan

Santosh Sivan

Santosh Sivan is an Indian cinematographer, film director, and producer who has worked in Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil, and Hindi cinema....

, Adoor Gopalakrishnan

Adoor Gopalakrishnan

Moutatthu "Adoor" Gopalakrishnan Unnithan is an Indian film director, script writer, and producer. Adoor Gopalakrishnan had a major role in revolutionizing Malayalam cinema and is regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of India.. Adoor's first film Swayamvaram pioneered the new wave cinema...

,G.Aravindan and John Abraham, Karnataka having produced Puttanna Kanagal

Puttanna Kanagal

Puttanna Kanagal was one of the most prominent Kannada film directors of the 1960s and the 70s. Although the majority of his films were on offbeat or taboo subjects, he endeared himself to both the critics and ordinary film goers alike. He also directed a handful Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and...

 and Tamil Nadu having produced Mani Ratnam

Mani Ratnam

Mani Ratnam is an Indian filmmaker, screenwriter and producer. He made his directorial debut with the Kannada film Pallavi Anu Pallavi starring Anil Kapoor in 1983...

, as well as many acclaimed films. Regional industries have also tended to produce a higher percentage of serious art film and political film. Bangladeshi cinema is filmed in Bengali

Bengali language

Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...

 and Sri Lankan cinema is filmed in Sinhala and Tamil

Tamil language

Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...

. Last but not least is Indonesian cinema. In the beginning the Indonesian cinema grew after World War I, rooted from the Folk Theater Drama called Dardanela. Under Usmar Ismail, Indonesian cinema became the new entertainment in 1950 to 1980. Hundred of film stars were born, such as: Citra Dewi (1960), Tanty Yosepha (1970). Yenny Rachman and Christine Hakim (1980) and Dian Sastro (late 1990s). Teguh Karya

Teguh Karya

Teguh Karya was an Indonesian film director. Starting his entertainment career in theatre, he made his directorial debut with the 1968 children's film Jenderal Kancil, with his first adult oriented film, Wajah Laki-Laki, released three years later...

 was one of the leading Film Director in Indonesia after the era of Usmar Ismail. Now, by the popularity of television, film is replaced with electronic cinema which is popular as sinetron. This industry has made the Indian born producer, Raam Punjabi, a tycon of sinetron in Indonesia.

Indian cinema

• Bollywood
  Bollywood
  Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
  
  , the Hindi
  Hindi
  Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
  
  /Hindustani
  Hindustani language
  Hindi-Urdu is an Indo-Aryan language and the lingua franca of North India and Pakistan. It is also known as Hindustani , and historically, as Hindavi or Rekhta...
  
   film industry, based in Mumbai
  Mumbai
  Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
  
   (formerly Bombay). This film industry is the most prolific and popular in South Asia and one of the most prolific in the world.
• Kollywood
  Tamil cinema
  Tamil cinema is the film industry based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, dedicated to the production of films in the Tamil language. It is based in Chennai's Kodambakkam district, where several South Indian film production companies are headquartered...
  
  , the Tamil
  Tamil language
  Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
  
   film industry based in the Kodambakkam area of Chennai
  Chennai
  Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
  
   (formerly Madras). It is the second most popular branch of Indian Cinema. Tamil films are also made in Sri Lanka
  Sri Lankan Tamil cinema
  Sri Lankan Tamil cinema, the Tamil language film industry in the Sri Lankan city of Jaffna, is not as developed as Sinhala cinema or its Indian counterpart, the Tamil cinema of Kodambakkam, Chennai, Tamil Nadu. This is especially due to the high production rates of the influential commercial Tamil...
  
   , Malaysia, Singapore
  Singapore
  Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
  
   and Canada.
• Bengali film industry
  Bengali cinema
  Bengali cinema refers to the Bengali language filmmaking industries in the Bengal region of South Asia. There are two major film-making hubs in the region: one in Kolkata, West Bengal, India and the other in Dhaka, Bangladesh .The history of cinema in Bengal dates back to the 1890s, when the first...
  
  , long centered in the Tollygunge
  Tollygunge
  Tollygunge is a locality of South Kolkata. It is flanked by the Eastern Railway south suburban line to the north, Lake Gardens and Golf Green in the east, the Pashchim & Purba Putiaries in the south, and Behala in the west.-History:...
  
   district of Kolkata
  Kolkata
  Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
  
   (formerly Calcutta). This film industry is known for producing many internationally acclaimed films by directors such as Satyajit Ray
  Satyajit Ray
  Satyajit Ray was an Indian Bengali filmmaker. He is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema. Ray was born in the city of Kolkata into a Bengali family prominent in the world of arts and literature...
  
  , Bimal Roy
  Bimal Roy
  Bimal Roy was one of the most acclaimed Indian film directors of all time. He is particularly noted for his realistic and socialistic films like Do Bigha Zamin, Parineeta, Biraj Bahu, Madhumati, Sujata, and Bandini, making him an important director of Hindi cinema...
  
  , Mrinal Sen
  Mrinal Sen
  Mrinal Sen is a Bengali Indian filmmaker. He was born on 14 May 1923, in the town of Faridpur, now in Bangladesh in a Hindu family. After finishing his high school there, he left home to come to Calcutta as a student and studied physics at the well-known Scottish Church College and at the...
  
   and Ritwik Ghatak.
• Telugu film industry, sometimes known as Tollywood, which comes from the mixture of Hollywood and Telugu
  Telugu language
  Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
  
  , based in Hyderabad. It was formerly located in Chennai
  Chennai
  Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
  
  , Tamil Nadu
  Tamil Nadu
  Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
  
  . Telugu film industry produced noted personalities like S.V.Ranga Rao and Dr.K.Viswanath.It produces the second largest no. of films in India.
• Gujarati cinema
  Gujarati cinema
  Gujarati cinema or Gujarati film industry is one of the largest regional and vernacular film industry of Cinema of India, dating back to April 9, 1932, when the first Gujarati language film titled, Narsinh Mehta was released...
  
  , based in Gujarat.
• Malayalam film industry, based in Kerala
  Kerala
  or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
  
  . Several of its directors such as Shaji N. Karun
  Shaji N. Karun
  Shaji Neelakantan Karun is a National Award-winning Indian film director and cinematographer. His debut film Piravi won the Caméra d'Or - Mention d'honneur at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival...
  
   have also received international acclaim.
• Kannada film industry
  Cinema of Karnataka
  The cinema of Karnataka , sometimes colloquially referred to as Sandalwood and as Chandanavana in Kannada, encompasses movies made in the Indian state of Karnataka based in Bangalore. Most of the movies are made in Kannada, with a handful of them in Konkani or Tulu. Today more than 100 films are...
  
  , based in Bangalore
  Bangalore
  Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
  
  , Karnataka
  Karnataka
  Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
  
  .
• Ollywood, the Oriya
  Oriya language
  Oriya , officially Odia from November, 2011, is an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family. It is mainly spoken in the Indian states of Orissa and West Bengal...
  
   film industry based in Bhubaneshwar and Cuttack
  Cuttack
  Cuttack is the former capital of the state of Orissa, India. It is the headquarters of Cuttack district and is located about 20 km to the north east of Bhubaneswar, the capital of Orissa. The name of the city is an anglicised form of Kataka that literally means The Fort, a reference to the...
  
  .
• Marathi film industry
  Marathi cinema
  Marathi cinema refers to films produced in the Marathi language in the state of Maharashtra, India. It is the oldest and pioneer film industry in India...
  
  , based in Mumbai
  Mumbai
  Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
  
   and Pune
  Pune
  Pune , is the eighth largest metropolis in India, the second largest in the state of Maharashtra after Mumbai, and the largest city in the Western Ghats. Once the centre of power of the Maratha Empire, it is situated 560 metres above sea level on the Deccan plateau at the confluence of the Mula ...
  
  .
• Punjabi film industry, based in Punjab,India.
• Assamese film industry, based in Assam
  Assam
  Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
  
  . This is the only major film industry in North-East India
  North-East India
  Northeast India refers to the easternmost region of India consisting of the contiguous Seven Sister States, Sikkim, and parts of North Bengal...
  
  .

Pakistani cinema

• Lollywood
  Lollywood
  Lollywood refers to the Pakistani film industry based in the city of Lahore. The word "Lollywood" was first coined in the summer of 1989 in the now defunct magazine "Glamour" published from Karachi by a gossip columnist Saleem Nasir. The film industry in Lahore started in 1929 with the opening of...
  
  , the Punjabi
  Punjabi language
  Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language...
  
   and Urdu
  Urdu
  Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
  
   film industry based in Lahore
  Lahore
  Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
  
  .
• Karachi film industry
  Kariwood
  Cinema in Karachi or Kariwood had its golden days in 1960s when some of the prominent film studios were located in Karachi, making films for the viewership of a large and growing middle class as well working-class population....
  
  , the Urdu
  Urdu
  Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
  
   film industry based in Karachi
  Karachi
  Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
  
  .
• Pashto film industry, the Pashto language
  Pashto language
  Pashto , known as Afghani in Persian and Pathani in Punjabi , is the native language of the indigenous Pashtun people or Afghan people who are found primarily between an area south of the Amu Darya in Afghanistan and...
  
   film industry based in Peshawar
  Peshawar
  Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
  
  .

Bangladeshi cinema

• Bangladeshi film industry
  Cinema of Bangladesh
  The Bangladeshi film industry has been based in Bangladesh's capital, Dhaka, since 1956. As of 2004, it produced approximately 100 movies a year, with an average movie budget of about 20,000,000 Bangladeshi taka...
  
  , the Bengali film industry
  Bengali cinema
  Bengali cinema refers to the Bengali language filmmaking industries in the Bengal region of South Asia. There are two major film-making hubs in the region: one in Kolkata, West Bengal, India and the other in Dhaka, Bangladesh .The history of cinema in Bengal dates back to the 1890s, when the first...
  
   based in Dhaka
  Dhaka
  Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...
  
  . Has recently begun receiving international acclaim with films by directors such as Tareque Masud
  Tareque Masud
  Tareque Masud was an award-winning Bangladeshi independent film director. He was known for directing the films Muktir Gaan and Matir Moina , for which he won a number of international awards, including the International Critics' Prize and FIPRESCI Prize for Directors' Fortnight at the 2002 Cannes...
  
   and Morshedul Islam
  Morshedul Islam
  Morshedul Islam is a renowned film director of Bangladesh. He is a successful figure in the film industry of Bangladesh and also attached with independent filmmaking.-Biography:...
  
  .

Others

• Afghan film industry
  Cinema of Afghanistan
  This article addresses Persian and Pashto cinemas of Afghanistan. For Pashto cinema in general please see: Pashto films industry.Cinema entered Afghanistan at the beginning of 20th century. The political changes of Afghanistan have not allowed the cinema of the country to grow over the years...
  
  
• Nepali film industry
  Cinema of Nepal
  Nepal does not have a very long film history but the industry has its own place in the cultural heritage of the country. Most Nepali films use Bollywood-style songs and narrative and are shot on 16-millimeter film...
  
  
• Sri Lankan film industry
  Cinema of Sri Lanka
  Sri Lankan cinema encompasses the films made in Sri Lanka. It is a fledgling industry that has struggled to find a footing since its inauguration in 1947 with Kadawunu Poronduwa produced by S.M.Nayagam of Chitra Kala Movietone.Sri Lankan films are usually made in the Sinhalese language, the...
  
  
• Sri Lankan Tamil film industry
  Sri Lankan Tamil cinema
  Sri Lankan Tamil cinema, the Tamil language film industry in the Sri Lankan city of Jaffna, is not as developed as Sinhala cinema or its Indian counterpart, the Tamil cinema of Kodambakkam, Chennai, Tamil Nadu. This is especially due to the high production rates of the influential commercial Tamil...
  
  

Key figures of South Asian cinema

With the rise in popularity of South Asian cinema in the West, especially due to the twenty million Indian immigrants spread across the world, Western audiences are becoming more familiar with many of the industry's film-makers and stars. Some, like Satyajit Ray

Satyajit Ray

Satyajit Ray was an Indian Bengali filmmaker. He is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema. Ray was born in the city of Kolkata into a Bengali family prominent in the world of arts and literature...

, who has been praised as the greatest director of all time by such luminaries as Akira Kurosawa

Akira Kurosawa

was a Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, Kurosawa directed 30 filmsIn 1946, Kurosawa co-directed, with Hideo Sekigawa and Kajiro Yamamoto, the feature Those Who Make Tomorrow ;...

, and who has often been cited as one of the three best directors of the 20th century, are legendary amongst film circles already. Some consider Satyajit Ray

Satyajit Ray

Satyajit Ray was an Indian Bengali filmmaker. He is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema. Ray was born in the city of Kolkata into a Bengali family prominent in the world of arts and literature...

, Ritwik Ghatak and Mrinal Sen

Mrinal Sen

Mrinal Sen is a Bengali Indian filmmaker. He was born on 14 May 1923, in the town of Faridpur, now in Bangladesh in a Hindu family. After finishing his high school there, he left home to come to Calcutta as a student and studied physics at the well-known Scottish Church College and at the...

 to be the foremost Indian directors.

Directors

• Khwaja Ahmed Abbas - Saat Hindustani
  Saat Hindustani
  Saat Hindustani is a 1969 film written and directed by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas. The film portrays the heroic story of seven Indians who attempt to liberate Goa from the Portuguese colonial rule. The cast included Utpal Dutt, Madhu, A. K. Hangal and Amitabh Bachchan who made his debut with this film...
  
  
• K. Asif
  K. Asif
  K. Asif was a film director, film producer and screenwriter who was famous for his work for the Hindi epic motion picture, Mughal-e-Azam .-Early life:...
  
   - Mughal-e-Azam
  Mughal-e-Azam
  Mughal-E-Azam is a 1960 Indian historical epic film produced under the banner of Sterling Investment Corporation Pvt Ltd, and directed by K. Asif. With its unmatched production, K. Asif's magnum opus took nine years and $3 million to complete this movie. This was when a typical Bollywood film...
  
  
• Mahboob
• Puttanna Kanagal
  Puttanna Kanagal
  Puttanna Kanagal was one of the most prominent Kannada film directors of the 1960s and the 70s. Although the majority of his films were on offbeat or taboo subjects, he endeared himself to both the critics and ordinary film goers alike. He also directed a handful Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and...
  
   - (Belli moda
  Belli Moda
  Belli moda is a 1966 Kannada movie by Puttanna Kanagal. Belli moda literally means silver cloud. It was based on the novel Belli Moda, written by acclaimed writer Thriveni.-Plot:...
  
  ).
• Satyajit Ray
  Satyajit Ray
  Satyajit Ray was an Indian Bengali filmmaker. He is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema. Ray was born in the city of Kolkata into a Bengali family prominent in the world of arts and literature...
  
   – internationally acclaimed Bengali film director, widely regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema (Apu trilogy
  Apu trilogy
  The Apu Trilogy is a trilogy consisting of three Bengali films directed by Satyajit Ray: Pather Panchali , Aparajito and Apur Sansar . The films — completed 1955-1959 — were based on two Bengali novels written by Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay: Pather Panchali and Aparajito...
  
  ).
• Dr.K.Viswanath - Telugu director known for films like Swathi Muthyam
  Swathi Muthyam
  Swathi Muthyam is a Telugu film directed by K. Viswanath,dubbed and released in tamil as Sippikul Muthu. starring Tamil actor Kamal Haasan and Raadhika. The movie won accolades at the International Asian Film Festival in both "Best Film" and "Best Actor" categories...
  
  , Swayam Krushi
  Swayam Krushi
  Swayamkrushi is a Telugu movie released on 3 September 1987 . It was made on Poornodaya Movie Creations by Edida Nageshwara Rao and directed by Kasinadhuni Viswanath and had Chiranjeevi act in Kasinadhuni Viswanath's direction for the second time after Subhalekha. It also had Vijayashanti,...
  
  .
• Kamal Amrohi
  Kamal Amrohi
  Syed Amir Haider Kamal Naqvi popularly known as Kamal Amrohi or Amrohvi in Urdu was an Indian film director, screenwriter, and dialogue writer. He was a Shi'a Muslim and an Urdu and Hindi poet. He is most known for his Hindi films such as Mahal , Pakeezah and Razia Sultan...
  
   - Mahal
  Mahal (1949 film)
  Mahal is a 1949 Indian Hindi film directed by Kamal Amrohi and starring Ashok Kumar and Madhubala....
  
   Pakeeza Razia Sultan
• Ritwik Ghatak – Bengali film director, (Nagarik
  Nagarik
  Nagarik ,also spelled as Nagorik, The Citizen in English, was the first feature-length film directed by Indian director Ritwik Ghatak. Completed in 1952, it preceded Satyajit Ray's Pather Panchali as perhaps, the first example of an art film in Bengali cinema, but is deprived of that honor, since...
  
  , Meghe Dhaka Tara
  Meghe Dhaka Tara
  Meghe Dhaka Tara is a 1960 film by written and director Ritwik Ghatak, based on a novel Shaktipada Rajguru. It stars Supriya Choudhury, Anil Chatterjee, Gita Dey, Bijan Bhattacharya, Niranjan Roy, and Gyanesh Mukherjee...
  
  ).
• Mrinal Sen
  Mrinal Sen
  Mrinal Sen is a Bengali Indian filmmaker. He was born on 14 May 1923, in the town of Faridpur, now in Bangladesh in a Hindu family. After finishing his high school there, he left home to come to Calcutta as a student and studied physics at the well-known Scottish Church College and at the...
  
   – well-respected Bengali film director, has won awards at major film festivals (Baishey Shravan, Bhuvan Shome).
• Guru Dutt
  Guru Dutt
  Vasanth Kumar Shivashankar Padukone , popularly known as Guru Dutt, was an Indian film director, producer and actor. He is often credited with ushering in the golden era of Hindi cinema...
  
   – Hindi actor, director and producer of the 1950s and '60s (Mr. & Mrs. '55
  Mr. & Mrs. '55
  Mr. & Mrs. '55 is a 1955 Bollywood film by director Guru Dutt. Guru Dutt stars alongside Madhubala, supported by Lalita Pawar, Johnny Walker and Jagdeep in this socially critical romantic comedy set in contemporary Bombay. The films music is by O. P...
  
  , Kaagaz Ke Phool
  Kaagaz Ke Phool
  Kaagaz Ke Phool, , is a 1959 Hindi film produced and directed by Guru Dutt, who also played the lead role in the film .The film was a box office disaster of its time but was later resurrected as a world cinema cult classic in the 1980s. The film's music was composed by S. D...
  
  , Pyaasa
  Pyaasa
  Pyaasa is a 1957 Indian film produced and directed by Guru Dutt. The film tells the story of struggling poet, Vijay , trying to make his works known in post-independence India...
  
  ).
• S.M. Yusuf - Nek Parveen
• Akbar Khan S Tajmahal
• V. Shantaram
  V. Shantaram
  V. Shantaram is a renowned Indian filmmaker, film producer and actor. He is most known for his films like Dr...
  
   – Hindi director and actor (Do Aankhen Barah Haath
  Do Aankhen Barah Haath
  Do Aankhen Barah Haath is a 1957 Hindi film directed by the Indian film director V. Shantaram, who also starred in the film. It is considered one of the classics of Hindi cinema and is based on morals of Gandhian philosophy. It won a Silver Bear at the 8th Berlin International Film Festival and it...
  
  ).
• Ashutosh Gowariker
  Ashutosh Gowariker
  Ashutosh Gowariker is an Indian film director, actor, writer and producer. He is known for directing the films Lagaan , Swades , Jodhaa Akbar , What's Your Raashee and Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey...
  
   – Contemporary Hindi actor, director and producer (Lagaan
  Lagaan
  Lagaan is a 2001 Bollywood sports film written and directed by Ashutosh Gowariker. Aamir Khan, who was also the producer for the film, stars with Gracy Singh in the lead roles; British actors Rachel Shelley and Paul Blackthorne play the supporting roles...
  
  ).
• K. Balachander
  K. Balachander
  K. Balachander is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer. Balachander is known for his distinct film-making style. His films analyse unusual or complicated interpersonal relationships and social themes. He has directed nearly 80 films and has worked in 100 films either as director or...
  
   – Prominent Tamil director who's also had success in Hindi films (Parthale Paravasam
  Parthale Paravasam
  The soundtrack for the film was composed by A. R. Rahman with lyrics by Vaali, Vairamuthu and Na. Muthukumar. The soundtrack featured nine songs with most of them remained chart-toppers for many months. Guitarist Rashid Ali had his debut as a vocalist through this film...
  
  , Ek Duuje Ke Liye
  Ek Duuje Ke Liye
  Ek Duuje Ke Liye is a 1981 Hindi movie directed by K. Balachander, starring Kamal Haasan and Rati Agnihotri. It was a remake of the director's own Telugu movie Maro Charithra. The film was labeled a "blockbuster" at the box office in 1981, earning a total of in receipts....
  
  ).
• Bimal Roy
  Bimal Roy
  Bimal Roy was one of the most acclaimed Indian film directors of all time. He is particularly noted for his realistic and socialistic films like Do Bigha Zamin, Parineeta, Biraj Bahu, Madhumati, Sujata, and Bandini, making him an important director of Hindi cinema...
  
   – One of the most successful Hindi film directors of all time (Devdas (1955 film)
  Devdas (1955 film)
  Devdas is a 1955 film directed by Bimal Roy, based on the Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay novel, Devdas.In 2005, Indiatimes Movies ranked the movie amongst the Top 25 Must See Bollywood Films.-Plot:...
  
  , Do Bigha Zameen
  Do Bigha Zameen
  Do Bigha Zamin is 1953 Hindi film, directed by Bengali film director Bimal Roy and star Balraj Sahni and Nirupa Roy in lead roles. The film is known for its socialist theme, and is an important film in the early parallel cinema of India and is rightly considered a trend setter...
  
  .
• Vijay Anand – Bollywood actor, director and producer mainly during the 1960s and '70s. (Johnny Mera Naam, Jewel Thief)
• Hrishikesh Mukherjee
  Hrishikesh Mukherjee
  Hrishikesh Mukherjee ) was a famous Indian film director known for a number of films, including Satyakam, Chupke Chupke, Anupama, Anand, Abhimaan, Guddi, Gol Maal, Aashirwad, Bawarchi, and Namak Haraam.Popularly known as Hrishi-da, he directed 42 films during his career spanning over four decades,...
  
   – Hindi film director known for a number of films (Anand, Abhimaan).
• Nasir Hussain
  Nasir Hussain
  Nasir Husain was an Indian film producer, director and screenwriter.-Early career:Husain first worked with A. R. Kardar when he joined Filmistan as a writer in 1948. The famous films he wrote for Filmistan include Anarkali , Munimjee , and Paying Guest...
  
   - (Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak
  Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak
  Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak or QSQT is a 1988 Indian Bollywood film written by Nasir Hussain and directed by his son Mansoor Khan. The film starred Hussain's nephew, Aamir Khan, along with Juhi Chawla in their first major roles. Upon release, the film became a box office hit and shot its leading stars...
  
  )
• Sudhir Mishra
  Sudhir Mishra
  Sudhir Mishra is an Indian film director and screenwriter most renowned for directing critically acclaimed films like Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, Dharavi and Chameli.-Early life and education:...
  
   – Contemporary director and screenwriter (Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi
  Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi
  Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, is an Indian movie made by director Sudhir Mishra in 2003, but released in 2005. Set against the backdrop of the Indian Emergency, the movie tells the story of three youngsters in the 70s, when India was undergoing massive social and political changes...
  
  , Chameli (Movie)).
• Bharathiraja
  Bharathiraja
  P. Bharathiraja , is a critically acclaimed South Indian filmmaker.He displayed a story-teller's potential from an early age. Bharathiraja is known for his realistic and sensitive portrayal of village-life in his movies....
  
   – Tamil director who captured village life (Muthal Mariyathai
  Muthal Mariyathai
  Mudhal Mariyadhai is a Tamil feature film directed by Bharathiraja. The film's score and soundtrack are composed by Ilaiyaraaja. The film was critically received upon release.-Plot:...
  
  , Vedham Pudhithu
  Vedham Pudhithu
  Vedham Pudhithu , starring Sathyaraj and Amala is a critically acclaimed Tamil movie, directed by Bharathiraja. Charuhasan, Saritha, Raja and 'Nizhalgal' Ravi played supporting roles in the movie. The story and dialogue was written by Kannan....
  
  ).
• Saawan Kumar
• Sikder diamond
• Balu Mahendra
  Balu Mahendra
  Balanathan "Balu" Mahendran is an Indian filmmaker, screenwriter, and cinematographer widely regarded as part of the first in a wave of directors and screenwriters from the Chennai film industry who revitalised Tamil cinema...
  
   – Sri Lanka
  Sri Lanka
  Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
  
  -born Tamil and Malayalam director (Sandhya Raagam, Veedu).
• Prakash Jha
  Prakash Jha
  Prakash Jha is an Indian film producer-director-screenwriter, who is most known for his political and socio-political films such as Damul , Mrityudand , Gangaajal , Apaharan and multistarrer hit movie Raajneeti...
  
   – Contemporary Hindi director (Gangaajal
  Gangaajal
  Gangaajal was 2003 Hindi film, directed by Prakash Jha, and was the brain child of Mr. Mahendra Lalka, starring Ajay Devgan, Gracy Singh, and Mukesh Tiwari...
  
  , Apaharan
  Apaharan
  Apaharan is a 2005 Hindi film released on the 2 December 2005 and is directed by Prakash Jha and stars Ajay Devgan and Nana Patekar in the lead roles...
  
  ).
• S.S. Rajamouli - A highly successful commercial Telugu director.
• Cheran
  Cheran (director)
  Cheran is a Tamil film director from Tamil Nadu, India. He has won the Indian National Film Award thrice for Vetri Kodi Kattu , Autograph , and Thavamai Thavamirundhu . Besides he is three-time Filmfare Award winner as well....
  
   – Award-winning Tamil director and actor (Autograph, Thavamai Thavamirundhu
  Thavamai Thavamirundhu
  Thavamai Thavamirundhu is a Tamil feature film directed by Cheran. It is a penetrating and artistic depiction of familial bond, underscored by a set of life value messages. It explores the father-son relationship, and particularly charts the travails an Indian father goes through in raising his sons...
  
  )
• Adoor Gopalakrishnan
  Adoor Gopalakrishnan
  Moutatthu "Adoor" Gopalakrishnan Unnithan is an Indian film director, script writer, and producer. Adoor Gopalakrishnan had a major role in revolutionizing Malayalam cinema and is regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of India.. Adoor's first film Swayamvaram pioneered the new wave cinema...
  
   – Prominent Malayalam director (Elippathayam
  Elippathayam
  Elippathayam is an Malayalam Film written and directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan. It is critically considered by many to be one of the most outstanding piece in Adoor Gopalakrishnan's filmography....
  
  , Swayamvaram
  Swayamvaram
  Swayamvaram is a 1972 Malayalam feature film co-written and directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan starring Madhu and Sharada in the lead roles. Notable smaller roles are filled by Thikkurisi Sukumaran Nair, Adoor Bhavani, Bharath Gopi, and K. P. A. C. Lalitha. The film was produced by the Chitralekha...
  
  ).
• Mani Shankar
  Mani Shankar
  Mani Shankar is a Bollywood director, best known for his direction of Hindi films such as 16 December, Rudraksh, and, Tango Charlie Mukhbir and Knockout....
  
   – Director of Bollywood action thrillers (16 December
  16 December (film)
  16 December is a film by director Mani Shankar, based around a plot to destroy the capital city of New Delhi with a nuclear bomb on 16 December 2001 – 30 years after the surrender of Pakistan at the end of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.The film's title comes from the historical date of 16...
  
  , Tango Charlie
  Tango Charlie
  Tango Charlie is a 2005 Indian film directed by Mani Shankar. It got mixed reviews and did not perform well commercially. The movie aims to portray aspects of war and grief and does not glorify these acts.-Plot:...
  
  )
• S. Shankar
  S. Shankar
  Shankar is an Indian film director and producer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. He made his directional debut in Gentleman for which he was awarded the Filmfare Best Director Award...
  
   – Popular Tamil director and producer (Mudhalvan
  Mudhalvan
  Mudhalvan is a 1999 Tamil political thriller film co-written and directed by S. Shankar. The film features Arjun, Manisha Koirala and Raghuvaran in the lead roles with Manivannan, Vijayakumar and Hanifa portraying other significant roles. The film featured an award-winning soundtrack composed by...
  
  , Anniyan
  Anniyan
  Anniyan is a 2005 Tamil psychological thriller film directed by S. Shankar. The film stars Vikram, Sadha, Prakash Raj, and Vivek, while featuring background score and soundtrack composed by Harris Jayaraj. The film was released worldwide on 10 June 2005....
  
  , Sivaji: The Boss
  Sivaji: The Boss
  Sivaji is a 2007 Tamil political thriller film directed by S. Shankar and produced by AVM Productions. Rajinikanth and Shriya Saran played the lead roles, with Suman, Vivek and Raghuvaran playing other significant roles in the film. A. R. Rahman composed the film's soundtrack and background music,...
  
  )
• A. R. Murugadoss
  A. R. Murugadoss
  A. R. Murugadoss is an Indian film director, producer and screenwriter.-Early life:A. R. Murugadoss was born in Kallakurichi, Tamil Nadu. He studied B.A. in Bishop Heber College, Trichy. In the College he had the great affinity towards Tamil films and friends...
  
   – Popular Kollywood and Tollywood director (Ghajini, Stalin
  Stalin (film)
  Stalin is a Tollywood film directed by A. R. Murugadoss. It stars Chiranjeevi in the lead role and Trisha Krishnan, Prakash Raj, Sharada Urvashi and Khushboo in supporting roles. Anushka Shetty performs an item number in the film. Shooting for the film was done at various locations in India...
  
  )
• Ram Gopal Varma
  Ram Gopal Varma
  Ram Gopal Varma is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer...
  
   – Tollywood and Bollywood director known for his gritty films. (Shiva, Rangeela
  Rangeela (film)
  Rangeela is a 1995 Hindi film directed by Ram Gopal Varma, and starring Aamir Khan, Jackie Shroff and Urmila Matondkar.Rangeela was music director A. R. Rahman's debut Hindi film with an original score, as the previous ones were dubbed from his Tamil scores...
  
  ).
• Mani Ratnam
  Mani Ratnam
  Mani Ratnam is an Indian filmmaker, screenwriter and producer. He made his directorial debut with the Kannada film Pallavi Anu Pallavi starring Anil Kapoor in 1983...
  
   – Generally works in Tamil films but has worked in Hindi, Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada industries (Kannathil Muthamittal
  Kannathil Muthamittal
  Kannathil Muthamittal is a 2002 Tamil drama film directed by Mani Ratnam. It stars P. S. Keerthana, R. Madhavan, Simran, Nandita Das, Pasupathy, J. D. Chakravarthy and Prakash Raj. The film's score and soundtrack were composed by A. R. Rahman. The film's title is a famous phrase from a poem...
  
  , Guru
  Guru
  A guru is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom, and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others . Other forms of manifestation of this principle can include parents, school teachers, non-human objects and even one's own intellectual discipline, if the...
  
  ).
• Shekhar Kapur
  Shekhar Kapur
  Shekhar Kapur is an Indian film director and producer. A critically acclaimed director, he rose to popularity with the movie Bandit Queen...
  
   – British India
  British Raj
  British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
  
  -born director and producer (Elizabeth
  Elizabeth (film)
  Elizabeth is a 1998 biographical film written by Michael Hirst, directed by Shekhar Kapur, and starring Cate Blanchett in the title role of Queen Elizabeth I of England, alongside Geoffrey Rush, Christopher Eccleston, Joseph Fiennes, Sir John Gielgud, Fanny Ardant and Richard Attenborough...
  
  , Bandit Queen
  Bandit Queen
  Bandit Queen is a 1994 Indian film based upon the life of Phoolan Devi. It was directed by Shekhar Kapur and starred Seema Biswas as the title character. It was produced by Bobby Bedi's Kaleidoscope Entertainment.The Music was Composed by Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.- Plot :The film opens in the...
  
  ).
• Shyam Benegal
  Shyam Benegal
  Shyam Benegal is a prolific Indian director and screenwriter. With his first four feature films Ankur , Nishant Manthan and Bhumika he created a new genre, which has now come to be called the "middle cinema" in India although he himself has expressed dislike in the term preferring his work to...
  
   – Important part of the New India Cinema movement (Ankur
  Ankur (film)
  Ankur is an Indian colour film of 1974. It was the first feature film directed by Shyam Benegal and the debut of Indian actors Shabana Azmi and Anant Nag...
  
  , Bhumika
  Bhumika
  Bhumika is a 1977 Indian film directed by Shyam Benegal. The movie stars Smita Patil, Amol Palekar, Anant Nag, Naseeruddin Shah and Amrish Puri....
  
  ).
• Upendra
  Upendra
  Upendra is a cine actor, director, script writer and singer. Born in a middle class family at Koteshwara near Kundapura, he belongs to Kannada speaking Kota Brahmin community. Upendra started his career off with famous director Kashinath as a writer and an assistant director...
  
   - (A, Om).
• K. S. Ravikumar
  K. S. Ravikumar
  K. S. Ravikumar is an Indian film director and actor, primarily working in Tamil cinema. He has directed numerous films ranging from comedy and drama to action thrillers. His film Dasavathaaram went on to gross $16 million worldwide in the first four weeks and eventually became one of the...
  
   - Highly successful Tamil commercial film director (Muthu, Padayappa
  Padayappa
  Padayappa is a 1999 Tamil drama film written and directed by K. S. Ravikumar. The film features Rajinikanth, Soundarya and Ramya Krishnan playing lead roles, whilst Sivaji Ganesan, Lakshmi and Nassar play pivotal supporting roles. With soundtrack composed by A. R...
  
  , Dasavathaaram)
• Madhur Bhandarkar
  Madhur Bhandarkar
  Madhur Bhandarkar is a National Award-winning Indian film director, script writer, and producer. He is best known for his films such as Chandni Bar , Page 3 , Traffic Signal , and Fashion...
  
   – Director and screenwriter Page 3
  Page 3 (film)
  Page 3 is a 2005 Indian film directed by Madhur Bhandarkar about the Page 3 Culture and media in the city of Mumbai. It stars Konkona Sen Sharma, Atul Kulkarni, Sandhya Mridul, Tara Sharma, Anju Mahendru, and Boman Irani...
  
  , Chandni Bar
  Chandni Bar
  Chandni Bar is a 2001 Hindi film directed by Madhur Bhandarkar. It depicts the gritty life of the Mumbai underworld, including prostitution, dance bars and gun crime. The film stars Tabu and Atul Kulkarni in lead roles. It also stars Ananya Khare, Rajpal Yadav, Minakshi Sahani and Vishal Thakkar...
  
  ).
• Deepa Mehta
  Deepa Mehta
  Deepa Mehta, LLD is a Genie Award-winning Indian-born Canadian film director and screenwriter, most known for her Elements Trilogy, Fire , Earth , and Water , among which Earth was submitted by Indian government for Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film...
  
   – Indian-born Canadian director best known for her "elements trilogy". Fire, Earth
  Earth (1998 film)
  Earth is a 1998 film directed by Deepa Mehta. It is based upon Bapsi Sidhwa's novel, Cracking India, . Earth is the second part of Mehta's Elements trilogy...
  
  , Water).
• Aparna Sen
  Aparna Sen
  Aparna Sen is a critically acclaimed Bengali Indian filmmaker, script writer, and actress. She is the winner of three National Film Awards and eight international film festival awards.-Biography:...
  
   – Bengali Indian actress and director (36 Chowringhee Lane
  36 Chowringhee Lane
  36 Chowringee Lane is a 1981 film written and directed by Aparna Sen and produced by Shashi Kapoor. The film was very well received upon release. It stars Jennifer Kendal in a critically acclaimed role and Debashree Roy.-Plot:...
  
  , Mr. and Mrs. Iyer
  Mr. and Mrs. Iyer
  Mr. and Mrs. Iyer is a 2002 Indian drama film written and directed by Aparna Sen and produced by N. Venkatesan. The film features Aparna Sen's daughter Konkona Sen Sharma as Meenakshi Iyer, a Tamil Iyer Brahmin who is a Hindu. Rahul Bose portrays the character of Raja Chowdhury, a Muslim wildlife...
  
  ).
• Ketan Mehta
  Ketan Mehta
  Ketan Mehta is an Indian film director, who has also directed documentaries and television serials.-Early life and education:Born in Navsari in Gujarat, Ketan Mehta did his schooling from Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, Delhi and later graduated in film direction from Film and Television Institute of...
  
   – (Bhavni Bhavai
  Bhavni Bhavai
  Bhavni Bhavai is a 1980 Gujarati film directed by Ketan Mehta. Ketan Mehta's debut film is a successful adaptation of folk idioms into cinema. The film is dedicated to Bertolt Brecht, Goscinny and to the inventor of the Bhavai, Asait Thakore, who was a Brahmin outcast and lived among the lower...
  
  , Maya Memsaab
  Maya Memsaab
  Maya Memsaab , also known as Maya and Maya: The Enchanting Illusion in English) is a 1993 Hindi film directed by Ketan Mehta. The film is based on Gustave Flaubert's novel Madame Bovary.-Synopsis:...
  
  ).
• Rakesh Roshan
  Rakesh Roshan
  Rakesh Roshan Rakesh Roshan Rakesh Roshan (Hindi: राकेश रोशन (born Rakesh Roshan Lal Nagrath on 6 September 1949 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India) is a producer, director and former actor in Bollywood films who was born in a Punjabi Hindu Kayastha family...
  
   – (Karan Arjun
  Karan Arjun
  Karan Arjun is an Indian Bollywood film starring- Salman Khan, Shahrukh Khan, Kajol, Mamta Kulkarni, Raakhee, Amrish Puri, Johnny Lever and Ranjeet. The film was directed by Rakesh Roshan, and written by Ravi Kapoor and Sachin Bhowmick. Karan Arjun is a mix of an upbeat Bollywood musical,...
  
  , Krrish
  Krrish
  Krrish is a 2006 Indian superhero science-fiction film The film was directed, produced, and written by Rakesh Roshan, while the screenplay was written by Robin Bhatt, Sachin Bhowmick, Honey Irani, Akarsh Khurana, and Sanjay Masoom. The film is a sequel to Koi.....
  
  ).
• Mira Nair
  Mira Nair
  Mira Nair is an Indian film director and producer based in New York. Her production company is Mirabai Films.She was educated at Delhi University and Harvard University. Her debut feature film, Salaam Bombay! , won the Golden Camera award at the Cannes Film Festival and also earned the nomination...
  
   – (Monsoon Wedding
  Monsoon Wedding
  * Originally featured in the Hindi film Loafer * Originally featured in the Hindi film Biwi No.1 -Awards:The movie won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival...
  
  , Salaam Bombay!
  Salaam Bombay!
  Salaam Bombay! is a 1988 Hindi film directed by Mira Nair, and screenwritten by her longtime creative collaborator, Sooni Taraporevala. The film chronicles the day-to-day life of children living on the streets of Bombay...
  
  ).
• Girish Karnad
  Girish Karnad
  Girish Raghunath Karnad is a contemporary writer, playwright, screenwriter, actor and movie director in Kannada language...
  
   - (Anand Bhairavi).
• Govind Nihalani
  Govind Nihalani
  Govind Nihalani is an Indian director, cinematographer, and also a screenwriter and film producer. He has been directing Hindi films since the late seventies, and worked in the television medium.- Biography :...
  
   – Cinematographer and director.
• Santosh Sivan
  Santosh Sivan
  Santosh Sivan is an Indian cinematographer, film director, and producer who has worked in Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil, and Hindi cinema....
  
   – Award-winning cinematographer and director (The Terrorist, Asoka).
• Gurinder Chadha
  Gurinder Chadha
  Gurinder Chadha , OBE, is a British film director of Indian origin. Most of her films explore the lives of Indians living in the United Kingdom. She is best known for the hit films Bhaji on the Beach , Bend It Like Beckham , Bride and Prejudice and Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging...
  
   – British director (Bend It Like Beckham
  Bend It Like Beckham
  Bend It Like Beckham is a 2002 comedy-drama film starring Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys Myers, Anupam Kher, Shaznay Lewis, and Archie Panjabi first released in the United Kingdom. The film was directed by Gurinder Chadha...
  
  , Bride and Prejudice
  Bride and Prejudice
  Bride and Prejudice is a 2004 romantic musical film directed by Gurinder Chadha. The screenplay by Chadha and Paul Mayeda Berges is a Bollywood-style adaptation of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. It was filmed primarily in English, with some Hindi and Punjabi dialogue. The film released in...
  
  ).
• Karan Johar
  Karan Johar
  Karan Johar is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter and Television host. He is the son of Hiroo Johar and Yash Johar. He is one of the most successful filmmakers in Bollywood. He is most known for directing and producing some of Bollywood's highest grossing films in India and the...
  
   – Actor, screenwriter and director; hosts TV chat show, Koffee with Karan
  Koffee with Karan
  Koffee with Karan is a talk show on STAR World India, hosted by Mumbai based film producer and director Karan Johar.- Overview :...
  
   (Kuch Kuch Hota Hai
  Kuch Kuch Hota Hai
  Kuch Kuch Hota Hai is a Hindi romantic comedy film, released in India and the United Kingdom on 16 October 1998. The film was written and directed by the debuting Karan Johar and stars the popular on-screen pair of Shahrukh Khan and Kajol in their fourth movie together...
  
  , Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna
  Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna
  Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna commonly known as KANK is a 2006 Bollywood film directed by Karan Johar and produced under the Dharma Productions banner...
  
  ).
• Prakash Mehra
  Prakash Mehra
  -Career:Born on 13 July 1939 at Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh, India, Mehra started in the late 1950s as a production controller. In 1968, he directed Shashi Kapoor who played a double role in Haseena Maan Jayegi. This was followed by the 1971 hit Mela starring the Khan brothers together. In 1973, he...
  
   – (Zanjeer
  Zanjeer
  Zanjeer , is a 1973 Hindi film directed and produced by Prakash Mehra; starring Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Pran, Ajit and Bindu. The movie changed the trend from romantic films to action films and pioneered Amitabh's new image of a brooding but explosive person who fights back when cornered...
  
  , Hera Pheri
  Hera Pheri (1976 film)
  Hera Pheri is a 1976 Hindi movie directed by Prakash Mehra and starring Amitabh Bachchan, Saira Banu, Vinod Khanna, Sulakshana Pandit, Shreeram Lagoo and Asrani. The film's music is by Kalyanji Anandji and the lyrics by Anjaan.This movie was 'superhit' at boxoffice.Vinod Khanna received a Filmfare...
  
  ).
• Ramesh Sippy
  Ramesh Sippy
  Ramesh Sippy is an Indian film director, probably best-known for directing the popular and critically acclaimed film Sholay ....
  
   – (Saagar
  Saagar
  Saagar is a 1985 Bollywood film directed by Ramesh Sippy. The film stars Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia along with Kamal Hassan.Saagar was a comeback film for Kapadia, and contained a fleeting topless shot of her...
  
  , Sholay
  Sholay
  Sholay is a 1975 Indian action-adventure film produced by G.P. Sippy and directed by his son Ramesh Sippy. It is considered among the greatest films in the history of Indian cinema. Released on 15 August 1975, it stars Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Sanjeev Kumar, Jaya Bhaduri and...
  
  ).
• Manmohan Desai
  Manmohan Desai
  Manmohan Desai was a producer and director of Indian movies.- Background :His father, Kikubhai Desai, was an Indian film producer and owner of Paramount Studios from 1931 to 1941. His productions, mainly stunt films, included Circus Queen, Golden Gang, and Sheikh Challi...
  
   – (Parvarish, Amar Akbar Anthony
  Amar Akbar Anthony
  Amar Akbar Anthony is a 1977 Bollywood film about three brothers separated during their childhood who grew up in three homes, adopting three religions...
  
  ).
• Basu Chatterjee
  Basu Chatterjee
  Basu Chatterjee is an Indian film director. His films are very similar to those of Hrishikesh Mukherjee. Like Mukherjee, he built his plots on middle-class lives.He was born in Ajmer, Rajasthan, India....
  
   – (Chitchor
  Chitchor
  Chitchor is a Hindi romantic musical film. The film's title means "Heart Stealer" in Hindi. The film is a Rajshri Productions film produced by Tarachand Barjatya. It was based on a Bengali story, Chittachakor by Subodh Ghosh. -Performance:The film became a box office hit and received several...
  
  ).
• Rajkumar Santoshi
  Rajkumar Santoshi
  Rajkumar Santoshi is a Filmfare award-winning Indian film director and producer of Hindi films. He is the son of producer-director P.L. Santoshi.-Career:...
  
   – (Ghayal
  Ghayal (1990 film)
  Ghayal is a 1990 Indian Hindi film starring Sunny Deol. The film was produced by Dharmendra and directed by Rajkumar Santoshi. The film won seven Filmfare Awards, including the Best Movie award...
  
  , Andaz apna apna
  Andaz apna apna
  Andaz Apna Apna is a 1994 Hindi film directed by Rajkumar Santoshi, starring Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, Raveena Tandon, Karisma Kapoor, Paresh Rawal and Shakti Kapoor in the lead roles. Govinda and Juhi Chawla make guest appearances....
  
  ).
• Partho Sen-Gupta
  Partho Sen-Gupta
  Partho Sen-Gupta is an independent film director and screenwriter of Indian origin.-Biography:Born in Mumbai , on 2 September 1965...
  
   – Avant-garde independent director (Hava Aney Dey
  Hava Aney Dey
  Fiction Feature Film / 93 mins / 35mm / Hindi stl-English / French / German / 2004Hava Aney Dey was shot on location, in the northern suburbs of Mumbai - India, in October – November 2003 with a mixed crew composed of French & Indian technicians...
  
  ).
• Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra
  Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra
  Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra is an Indian filmmaker and screenwriter. He is best known for writing and directing Rang De Basanti , for which he won Best Director awards at the 2006 Filmfare Awards and National Film Awards and received a BAFTA Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film...
  
   – Director and screenwriter (Aks, Rang De Basanti
  Rang De Basanti
  Rang De Basanti is a 2006 Indian drama film written and directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra. It features an ensemble cast comprising Aamir Khan, Soha Ali Khan, Madhavan, Kunal Kapoor, Siddharth Narayan, Sharman Joshi, Atul Kulkarni and British actress Alice Patten in the lead roles...
  
  ).
• Sanjay Leela Bhansali
  Sanjay Leela Bhansali
  Sanjay Leela Bhansali is an Indian film director. He is an alumnus of the Film and Television Institute of India...
  
   – Devdas
  Devdas (2002 film)
  Devdas is a 2002 Bollywood film based on the 1917 Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay novella Devdas. This is the third Hindi version and the first colour film version of the story in Hindi...
  
  , Black)
• Vikram Bhatt
  Vikram Bhatt
  Vikram Bhatt is an Indian film director, producer and screenwriter. He has more than 21 films to his credit. He is also the creative head of a conglomerate called ASA Productions.-Early life:...
  
   – (Inteha
  Inteha (Hindi film)
  Inteha is a Bollywood film released in 24 October 2003. It was produced by Mukesh Bhatt and directed by Vikram Bhatt, and stars Ashmit Patel, Vidya Malvade and Nauheed Cyrusi...
  
  , Deewane Huye Pagal
  Deewane Huye Pagal
  Deewane Huye Paagal is a Bollywood romantic comedy directed by Vikram Bhatt, and written by Mangesh Kulkarni and Neeraj Vora. It starred Shahid Kapoor, Akshay Kumar, Rimi Sen, Suniel Shetty and others. The film's storyline was inspired from the 1998 American film There's Something About Mary...
  
  ).
• Sanjay Gupta
  Sanjay Gupta (Director)
  Sanjay Gupta is a Bollywood writer-director known for his dark thrillersSanjay Gupta comes from an affluent business family of South Mumbai. He completed his studies at Palm Beach School at Napean Sea Road and Sydenham College at Churchgate in Mumbai. He has frequently worked with Sanjay Dutt. The...
  
   – (Zinda
  Zinda (film)
  Zinda is a 2006 Bollywood film, starring Sanjay Dutt, John Abraham, and Lara Dutta. Zinda was directed by Sanjay Gupta and written by Gupta and Suresh Nair. Vishal-Shekhar composed the film's thematic music, with background music composed by Sanjoy Chowdhury...
  
  )
• Yash Chopra
  Yash Chopra
  Yash Raj Chopra is an Indian filmmaker, film director, screenwriter, and a highly successful Bollywood producer. Waqt, Deewar, Kabhi Kabhie, Silsila, Lamhe, Chandni, Darr, Dil To Pagal Hai, and Veer-Zaara are some of his highly popular movies...
  
   – Veteran producer and director (Waqt
  Waqt (1965 film)
  Waqt is a 1965 Indian film directed by Yash Chopra. It made it onto the BFI's long list of films in consideration for their top ten of Indian films award. It was produced by B.R...
  
  , Deewaar).
• Ramesh Sippy
  Ramesh Sippy
  Ramesh Sippy is an Indian film director, probably best-known for directing the popular and critically acclaimed film Sholay ....
  
   – (Sholay
  Sholay
  Sholay is a 1975 Indian action-adventure film produced by G.P. Sippy and directed by his son Ramesh Sippy. It is considered among the greatest films in the history of Indian cinema. Released on 15 August 1975, it stars Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Sanjeev Kumar, Jaya Bhaduri and...
  
  , Andaz
  Andaz (1971 film)
  Andaz or Andaaz is a 1971 Hindi romantic movie starring Shammi Kapoor, Hema Malini and Rajesh Khanna...
  
  )
• Vidhu Vinod Chopra
  Vidhu Vinod Chopra
  Vidhu Vinod Chopra is an Indian director and producer. Chopra is the head of his own company, Vinod Chopra Productions, and is particularly known for producing the Munna Bhai films and 3 Idiots.-Early life:Born in a Punjabi family of Kashmir,...
  
   – (An Encounter with Faces
  An Encounter with Faces
  An Encounter with Faces is a 1978 short documentary film directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra and produced by K.K. Kapil. It was nominated in 1979 for an Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject.- Awards and nominations :...
  
  , 1942: A Love Story
  1942: A Love Story
  1942: A Love Story is a 1994 Bollywood film starring Anil Kapoor, Manisha Koirala, Jackie Shroff, Anupam Kher, Danny Denzongpa, and Pran. The film was the first ever to be given a U/A rating while featuring a scene, previously considered inappropriate for young children, showing the actors kissing...
  
  ).
• Nagathihalli Chandrashekhar
  Nagathihalli Chandrashekhar
  Nagathihalli Chandrashekhar is a Kannada film director. Chandrashekhar, also known as Chandru, has directed about 15 Kannada movies and about 10 Tele-serials...
  
   - (America! America!!, Amruthadhaare).
• Yograj Bhat
  Yograj Bhat
  Yograj Bhat is a prominent Kannada film director, producer, screenwriter and a lyricist. He is most predominantly known for the 2006 film Mungaru Male, which he co-wrote with Preetam Gubbi. He was also the director of the film and was one of the lyricists in the film...
  
   - (Mungaru Male
  Mungaru Male
  Mungaru Male is a 2006 Kannada language movie directed by Yograj Bhat and produced by E Krishnappa. The film stars Ganesh, Pooja Gandhi, and Anant Nag in lead roles...
  
  ).
• Ajith Nag - (Brinda
  Brinda
  Brinda is also known as Tulsi in hindiBrinda may refer to:*Brinda Parekh, an Indian model, actress.*Brinda Karat, a communist politician from India.*T. Brinda, Carnatic music vocalist....
  
  ).

Actors

• Aamir Khan
  Aamir Khan
  Aamir Hussain Khan is an Indian film actor, director and producer who has established himself as one of the leading actors of Hindi cinema....
  
  
• Abhishek Bachchan
  Abhishek Bachchan
  Abhishek Bachchan is an Indian actor and producer. He is the son of Indian actors Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan and is married to actress and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai....
  
  
• Ajay Devgan
  Ajay Devgan
  Ajay Devgan , born Vishal Veeru Devgan on 2 April 1969, is an Indian film actor, director, and producer.He made his film debut with Phool Aur Kaante in 1991 and received a Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut for his performance in the film and for which he won a Filmfare Best Debut Award...
  
  
• Ajith Kumar
  Ajith Kumar
  Ajith Kumar is an Indian film actor who works mainly in Tamil cinema. He began his career as a supporting actor in a Telugu film before gaining critical recognition in the Tamil thriller Aasai . A succession of high-grossing films followed where Ajith was usually depicted as a romantic hero, with...
  
  
• Akkineni Nagarjuna
  Akkineni Nagarjuna
  Akkineni Nagarjuna is an Indian film actor in Tollywood and Bollywood. He is a producer and one of the lead actors in Telugu cinema.- Early life :...
  
  
• Akkineni Nageswara Rao
  Akkineni Nageswara Rao
  Akkineni Nageswara Rao , also known as ANR, is a Telugu cinema actor from Gudivada, Andhra Pradesh. Nageswara Rao has worked in several genres of films in his 70-year acting career, including mythological, social, and drama films...
  
  
• Akshay Kumar
  Akshay Kumar
  Akshay Kumar is an Indian film actor, producer and martial artist who has appeared in over a hundred Hindi films. When he began his acting career in the 1990s, he primarily starred in action films and was particularly known for his appearances in feature films commonly called the "Khiladi series",...
  
  
• Ambareesh
  Ambareesh
  Malavallii Huche Gowda Amarnath or M.H.Amarnath born 29 May 1952 at Maddur Taluk in Mandya District of Karnataka State is a Kannada film actor...
  
  
• Amitabh Bachchan
  Amitabh Bachchan
  Amitabh Bachchan is an Indian film actor. He first gained popularity in the early 1970s as the "angry young man" of Hindi cinema, and has since appeared in over 180 Indian films in a career spanning more than four decades...
  
  
• Allu Arjun
  Allu Arjun
  Allu Arjun is an Indian film actor known for his work in Telugu cinema. He has won two Nandi, two Filmfare and a CineMAA Award for his performances in Arya, Parugu and Vedam.-Personal life:...
  
  
• Arshad Warsi
  Arshad Warsi
  Arshad Warsi is an Indian actor who debuted in 1996 with the film Tere Mere Sapne which was a success but he is best known for his role as "Circuit" in the comedy films Munnabhai M.B.B.S. and Lage Raho Munnabhai and his role as Babban in Ishqiya which won him acclaim.-Early life and...
  
  
• Dharmendra
  Dharmendra
  Dharmendra Singh Deol |Punjab]]), better known as Dharmendra, is an award-winning Hindi film actor who has appeared in more than 247 Hindi-language films as of 2011. In 1997, he received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to Hindi cinema and also another Lifetime...
  
  
• Dr. Rajkumar
• Jeetendra
  Jeetendra
  Jeetendra born Ravi Kapoor is an Indian actor and television producer...
  
  
• Vinod Khanna
  Vinod Khanna
  -Early life:Khanna was born to Kamla and Kishanchand Khanna, a textiles, dyes and chemicals businessman of Hindu Punjabi Khatri origin, on 6 October 1946, in Peshawar, British India . He has three sisters and one brother...
  
  
• Vinod Mehra
  Vinod Mehra
  Vinod Mehra was an Indian actor in Bollywood films. He started out as a child actor in a few films in the late 1950s and early 1960s before starting his adult film career in 1971 acting in over 100 films throughout the 1970s through to the 1990s...
  
  
• Vishnuvardhan
• Feroz Khan
  Feroz Khan
  Feroz Khan was an Indian actor, film editor, producer and director in the Hindi film industry...
  
  
• Mithun Chakraborty
  Mithun Chakraborty
  Mithun Chakraborty is an Indian film actor, social activist, and entrepreneur, who has won three National Film Awards. He made his acting debut with the arthouse drama Mrigaya , for which he won his first National Film Award for Best Actor....
  
  
• Amrish Puri
  Amrish Puri
  Amrish Singh Puri , ; 22 June 1932 – 12 January 2005 was an iconic theater and film actor from India, who was a key player in the Indian theater movement that picked up steam in the 1960s. He worked with notable playwrights of the time, such as Satyadev Dubey and Girish Karnad...
  
  
• Anil Kapoor
  Anil Kapoor
  Anil Kapoor is an Indian actor and producer who mainly appears in Bollywood films. He won a Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for his role in Yash Chopra's film Mashaal ....
  
  
• Ashok Kumar
  Ashok Kumar
  Ashok Kumar also fondly called Dadamoni was an Indian film actor. Born Kumudlal Ganguly in Bhagalpur, Bengal Presidency he attained iconic status in Indian cinema...
  
  
• Dilip Kumar
  Dilip Kumar
  Dilip Kumar , is an Indian actor and a former Member of Parliament.He lives in Pali Hill, Bandra in Mumbai, India. He is commonly known as "Tragedy King",and is described as "the ultimate method actor" by Satyajit Ray....
  
  
• Balraj Sahni
  Balraj Sahni
  Balraj Sahni , born Yudhishthir Sahni , was a famous Hindi film actor. He belonged to a Punjabi Khatri family from Bhera now in Punjab, Pakistan...
  
  
• Shahrukh Khan
  Shahrukh Khan
  Shahrukh Khan , often credited as Shah Rukh Khan, is an Indian film actor, as well as a film producer and television host. Often referred to as "the King of Bollywood", Khan has acted in over 70 Hindi films....
  
  
• Manoj Kumar
  Manoj Kumar
  Manoj Kumar is an award-winning Indian actor and director in the Bollywood film industry. He is known for acting in and directing films with patriotic themes, and has been given the nickname "Mr Bharat"...
  
  
• Jackie Shroff
  Jackie Shroff
  Jackie Shroff is an Indian actor. He has been in the industry for more than 28 years and has appeared in over 150 films.-Personal life:...
  
  
• R. Madhavan
  R. Madhavan
  R. Madhavan is an Indian actor, writer, film producer and television host. Madhavan has received a Filmfare Award, an award from the Tamil Nadu State Film Awards alongside recognition and nominations from other organisations...
  
  
• Kamal Hassan
• Vijay
  Joseph Vijay
  Vijay is an Indian film actor and playback singer, who is based in the cinema of Tamil Nadu. He is the son of film producer and director S. A. Chandrasekhar. After performing uncredited roles as a child actor in films produced by his father, he made his debut in a lead role in the 1992 film...
  
  
• Raj Kapoor
  Raj Kapoor
  Known as Ranbir Raj Kapoor Rāj Kapūr, 14 December 1924 – 2 June 1988), also known as The Show-Man, was an Indian film actor, producer and director of Hindi cinema. He was the winner of nine Filmfare Awards, while his films Awaara and Boot Polish were nominated for the Palme d'Or at the...
  
  
• Rishi Kapoor
  Rishi Kapoor
  Rishi Kapoor is an Indian Bollywood actor, film producer and director.-Early life:Born in Chembur Mumbai, Kapoor is the second son of film director and star Raj Kapoor. He did his schooling with his brothers at Campion School,Mumbai. His brothers are well-known actors: Randhir Kapoor and Rajiv...
  
  
• Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao
• Balakrishna
• Venkatesh
  Daggubati Venkatesh
  Venkatesh Daggubati is an Indian film actor who stars in Tollywood films. He is the son of veteran Tollywood film producer, former MP, Dr. D. Ramanaidu. He is often credited as Victory Venkatesh in films and is one of the lead actors in Telugu Cinema. He has won seven Nandi Awards and four...
  
  
• Nana Patekar
  Nana Patekar
  Vishwanath "Nana" Patekar is an Indian actor and filmmaker.-Biography:Born Vishwanath Patekar in Murud-Janjira, Maharashtra, to Dinkar Patekar and his wife Sanjanabai Patekar. He is an alumnus of the Sir J.J...
  
  
• Rajkumar
  Rajkumar
  Rajkumar , born as Singanalluru Puttaswamayya Muthuraju was a popular actor and singer in the Kannada film industry...
  
  
• Rajinikanth
• Rajesh Khanna
  Rajesh Khanna
  Rajesh Khanna is an Indian actor of from Hindi films, and has been Hindi film producer and an Indian politician....
  
  
• Ramesh Aravind
  Ramesh Aravind
  Ramesh Aravind or Ramesh is a popular Kannada, Tamil and Telugu movie actor. He is considered one of the most versatile actors in Indian cinema.-Early days:...
  
  
• Pran
• Vikram
  Vikram (actor)
  Vikram is an Indian film actor who has predominantly appeared in Tamil language films. During his years in the Indian film industry, he has won five Filmfare Awards as well as one National Film Award and Tamil Nadu State Film Award amongst other recognitions and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate...
  
  
• Shammi Kapoor
  Shammi Kapoor
  Shammi Kapoor was an Indian film actor and director. He was a prominent lead actor in Hindi cinema from the late 1950s until the early 1970s....
  
  
• Raaj Kumar
  Raaj Kumar
  Raaj Kumar , born Kulbushan Pandit was an Indian actor in Hindi movies. Raaj Kumar started out as sub-inspector of Mumbai police in the late 1940s before he turned to acting with the 1952 film Rangili...
  
  
• Mohanlal
  Mohanlal
  Mohanlal Vishwanathan Nair , known mononymously as Mohanlal , is a National Award-winning Indian actor, producer, singer and writer who is well known for his versatile and natural acting in Indian cinema & hence widely known as the Universal Star...
  
  
• Mammooty
• Sanjeev Kumar
• Surya Sivakumar
• Mehmood
• Mahesh Babu
  Mahesh Babu
  Mahesh Babu born Mahesh Babu Ghattamaneni on 9 August 1975 is an Indian film actor from Telugu Cinema. Born to Legendary Telugu actor Superstar Krishna, Mahesh Babu faced the camera at the age of four as a child artist in the movie Needa...
  
  
• Dev Anand
  Dev Anand
  Dharam Dev Anand , better known as Dev Anand , is an Indian Hindi Cinema actor, director and film producer. Dev is the second of three brothers who were active in Hindi Cinema. His brothers are Chetan Anand and Vijay Anand. Their sister, Sheel Kanta Kapur, is the mother of renowned Hindi and...
  
  
• Om Puri
  Om Puri
  Om Puri is an Indian actor who has appeared in both mainstream Indian films and art films. His credits also include appearances in British and American films. He has received an honorary OBE.-Early life:...
  
  
• Naseeruddin Shah
  Naseeruddin Shah
  Naseeruddin Shah is an Indian / Bollywood film actor and director. He is considered to be one of the finest actors of Indian cinema. In 2003, the Government of India honored him with the Padma Bhushan for his contributions towards Indian cinema.-Early life:...
  
  
• Amrish Puri
  Amrish Puri
  Amrish Singh Puri , ; 22 June 1932 – 12 January 2005 was an iconic theater and film actor from India, who was a key player in the Indian theater movement that picked up steam in the 1960s. He worked with notable playwrights of the time, such as Satyadev Dubey and Girish Karnad...
  
  
• Anant Nag
  Anant Nag
  Anant Nagarkatte popularly known as Anant Nag is an actor and politician from Karnataka, India. He is considered to be one of the all time greatest actors in the Kannada film industry with a vast number of commercially successful movies. As a result, he is popularly known as an actor with...
  
  
• Kishore Kumar
  Kishore Kumar
  Kishore Kumar , born Abhas Kumar Ganguly, was an Indian film playback singer and an actor who also worked as lyricist, composer, producer, director, screenwriter and scriptwriter.Kishore Kumar was one of India's greatest performers of the late 20th century...
  
  
• Chiranjeevi
  Chiranjeevi
  Chiranjeevi is a Telugu film actor and a politician. He has appeared primarily in Telugu Cinema along with a few Tamil, Kannada and Hindi films. He made his acting debut in Punadhirallu . However, Pranam Khareedu released at the box office earlier...
  
  
• Manoj Bajpai
  Manoj Bajpai
  Manoj Bajpai , also credited as Manoj Bajpayee, is an Indian film actor, known for playing offbeat and unconventional roles. He first shot into fame with his breakthrough role in Ram Gopal Varma's 1998 film Satya.-Early life:...
  
  
• Mohanlal
  Mohanlal
  Mohanlal Vishwanathan Nair , known mononymously as Mohanlal , is a National Award-winning Indian actor, producer, singer and writer who is well known for his versatile and natural acting in Indian cinema & hence widely known as the Universal Star...
  
  
• Saif Ali Khan
  Saif Ali Khan
  Saif Ali Khan is an Indian actor known for his work in Bollywood films. He is the son of the late former Nawab of Pataudi, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, and actress Sharmila Tagore. He has two sisters: Saba Ali Khan and actress Soha Ali Khan....
  
  
• Salman Khan
  Salman Khan
  Salman Khan is an Indian film actor. He has starred in more than 80 Hindi films.Khan, who made his acting debut with a minor role in the drama Biwi Ho To Aisi with Rekha in a lead role, had his first commercial success with the blockbuster Maine Pyar Kiya , for which he won a Filmfare Award for...
  
  
• Sanjay Dutt
  Sanjay Dutt
  Sanjay Dutt is an Indian Hindi film actor and politician. Dutt, son of Hindi film actors Sunil and Nargis Dutt, made his acting debut in 1981.-Personal life:...
  
  
• Sunil Dutt
  Sunil Dutt
  Sunil Dutt , born Sunil Balraj Dutt, was an Indian Hindi movie actor , producer, director and politician. He was the cabinet minister for Youth Affairs and Sports in the Manmohan Singh government...
  
  
• Sunny Deol
  Sunny Deol
  Sunny Deol often credited as "Action King of Bollywood" is an Indian film actor, producer and director. Deol was born to Bollywood actor Dharmendra. He has won two National Film Awards and two Filmfare Awards. He went to England to study acting...
  
  
• Shankar Nag
  Shankar Nag
  Shankar Nagarkatte , 9 November 1954 - 30 September 1990) popularly known as Shankar Nag was a popular actor and director of Kannada cinema. He also directed and acted in the teleserial, Malgudi days, based on celebrated novelist R.K.Narayan's short stories. Besides these, he was actively involved...
  
  
• Hrithik Roshan
  Hrithik Roshan
  Hrithik Roshan is an Indian actor who appears in Bollywood films.After having appeared in films as a child actor in the 1980s, Roshan made his film debut in a leading role in Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai for which Roshan earned his Filmfare Awards for Best Actor and Best Male Debut...
  
  
• Suresh Gopi
  Suresh Gopi
  Suresh Gopinathan Nair , often credited as Suresh Gopi , is an Indian film actor who works mainly in Malayalam cinema; he is famous for his roles in police dramas. He is noted for his leading roles as much as his character roles...
  
  
• Mukesh
• Jagathi Sreekumar
• Thilakan
  Thilakan
  Surendranatha Thilakan , known mononymously as Thilakan, is an Indian actor who works in Malayalam cinema and theatre. He was awarded Padma Shri on 25 January 2009.- Theatre:...
  
  
• M.G. Ramachandran
• Sivaji Ganeshan
• Jayan
  Jayan
  Krishnan Nair , better known by his stage name Jayan , was an Indian film actor, former sailor, stunt performer and 1970s style icon. He worked in Malayalam cinema, a sector of the Indian movie industry...
  
  
• Mohammad Ali
  Mohammad Ali (actor)
  Mohammad Ali was a Pakistani actor. He was known as Shahenshah-e-Jazbaat , means The Emperor of Emotions. He had starred in over 250 movies playing roles as hero and villain. He was included among 25 greatest actors of Asia by CNN survey...
  
  
• Nadeem
  Nadeem
  Nadeem is a masculine given name. It has the meaning "friend", "close companion", or "confidant"...
  
  
• Upendra
  Upendra
  Upendra is a cine actor, director, script writer and singer. Born in a middle class family at Koteshwara near Kundapura, he belongs to Kannada speaking Kota Brahmin community. Upendra started his career off with famous director Kashinath as a writer and an assistant director...
  
  
• Waheed Murad
  Waheed Murad
  Waheed Murad was a legendary Pakistani film actor, producer and script writer. Waheed is considered to be one of the most famous and influential actors of subcontinent. Born in Sialkot, Pakistan, he was the only child of well-off film distributor Mr. Nisar Murad. He got early education from...
  
  
• Ritesh Deshmukh

Actresses

• Asin Thottumkal
  Asin Thottumkal
  Asin Thottumkal , known mononymously as Asin, is an Indian film actress, model and stage performer who acts primarily in Bollywood and Kollywood....
  
  
• B. Saroja Devi
  B. Saroja Devi
  B. Saroja Devi is an Indian actress. She is a recipient of the Padma Bhushan award and has acted in Kannada,Tamil, Telugu and Hindi movies.She is referred to as Abinaya Saraswathi by Tamil film industry and as Kannadathu Paingili by Kannada Film Industry.She ruled the roost for more than three...
  
  
• Padmini
  Padmini (actress)
  Padmini was an Indian actress and trained Bharathanatyam dancer who has acted in over 250 Indian films. She has acted in the Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi language films...
  
  
• Madhubala
  Madhubala
  Mumtaz Jahan Begum Dehlavi, known by her stage name Madhubala was a Hindi movie actress. She starred in several successful movies in the 1950s and early 1960s, many of which have attained a classic status...
  
  
• Madhuri Dixit
  Madhuri Dixit
  Madhuri Dixit is an Indian film actress who has appeared in Hindi films. Throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, she established herself as one of Hindi cinema's leading actresses and most accomplished dancers. She appeared in numerous commercially successful films and was recognised for several of...
  
  
• Nutan
  Nutan
  Nutan Behl , better known as Nutan , was an Indian actress. She appeared in more than 70 Hindi films in a career spanning over four decades...
  
  
• Rekha
• Aishwarya Rai
  Aishwarya Rai
  Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is an Indian film actress. She worked as a model before starting her acting career, and ultimately won the Miss World pageant in 1994...
  
  
• Meena Kumari
  Meena Kumari
  Meena Kumari , born Mahjabeen Bano, was an Indian movie actress and poetess. She is regarded as one of the most prominent actresses to have appeared on the screens of Hindi Cinema...
  
  
• Noor Jehan
  Noor Jehan
  Noorjehan or Noorjehan was the adopted stage name for Allah Wasai who was a legendary singer and actress in British India and Pakistan. Her career spanned seven decades...
  
  
• Trisha Krishnan
  Trisha Krishnan
  Trisha Krishnan is an Indian film actress and model, who primarily appears in Tamil and Telugu language films, but has also appeared in Hindi language films. She was noticed after winning several beauty pageants like the Miss Madras contest , which marked her entry into filmdom...
  
  
• Divya Spandana (Ramya)
• Devika Rani
  Devika Rani
  Devika Rani Chaudhuri Roerich was an early Indian movie star.- Career :Born in Waltair , Devika Rani came from a distinguished background: she was the great-grandniece of the Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore and her father, Col. M. N. Chaudhuri, was the first Indian Surgeon-General of Madras...
  
  
• Vyjayanthimala
  Vyjayanthimala
  Vyjayanthimala Bali is an Indian film actress, Bharathanatyam dancer, carnatic singer, dance choreographer, golfer and a Parliamentarian....
  
  
• Hema Malini
  Hema Malini
  Hema Malini is an Indian actress, director and producer, as well as a Bharatanatyam dancer-choreographer. Making her acting debut in Sapno Ka Saudagar , she went on to appear in numerous Bollywood films, most notably those with actor and future-husband Dharmendra. She was initially promoted as...
  
  
• Smita Patil
  Smita Patil
  Smita Patil was an Indian actress of film, television and theatre. Regarded among the finest stage and film actresses of her times, Patil appeared in over 75 Hindi and Marathi films in a career that spanned just over a decade. During her career, she received two National Film Awards and a...
  
  
• Soundarya
  Soundarya
  Soundarya was a film actress who appeared in Kannada, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam films. She acted in more than 90 films, most of them in Telugu. She was killed in a plane crash near Bangalore.-Film career:...
  
  
• Sridevi
• Rani Mukerji
  Rani Mukerji
  Rani Mukerji is an Indian film actress who works in Hindi movies. In the course of her film career, she has received six Filmfare Awards, among twelve nominations....
  
  
• Manisha Koirala
  Manisha Koirala
  Manisha B. Koirala is a Nepali-Indian actress who works in Indian films, as well as a UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador and social activist. Koirala has primarily worked in Hindi cinema, though she has appeared in several Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films as well...
  
  
• Prema
  Prema (actress)
  Prema is an actress in the Kannada film industry. She has starred opposite Mohanlal, Shivrajkumar, Vishnuvardhan, Ravichandran, Upendra, Saikumar,and Ramesh Aravind.- Early life :...
  
  
• Sharmila Tagore
  Sharmila Tagore
  Sharmila Tagore is an Indian film actress. She has won National Film Awards and Filmfare Awards for her performances.She has led the Indian Film Censor Board from October 2004 till March 2011...
  
  
• Shabana Azmi
  Shabana Azmi
  Shabana Azmi is an Indian actress of film, television and theatre. An alumna of the Film and Television Institute of India of Pune, she made her film debut in 1974 and soon became one of the leading actresses of parallel cinema, an Indian New Wave movement known for its serious content and...
  
  
• Bipasha Basu
  Bipasha Basu
  Bipasha Basu is an Indian actress who mainly appears in Bollywood films. A former model, she was the winner of the Ford's Godrej Cinthol Supermodel contest in 1996.-Early life:...
  
  
• Jaya Bachchan
  Jaya Bachchan
  Jaya Bhaduri Bachchan is an Indian actress and politician. She is an alumna of the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. Bachchan is the wife of Amitabh Bachchan, and is the mother of Shweta Bachchan-Nanda and Abhishek Bachchan...
  
  
• Jayanthi
  Jayanthi (actress)
  Jayanthi is an Indian actress. She has appeared in over 500 films, including films in the Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi and Marathi languages. In Kannada movies, she was honored with the title Abhinaya Sharade....
  
  
• Nargis
  Nargis
  Nargis Dutt , born Fatima Rashid but known by her screen name, Nargis, was an Indian film actress. She is widely regarded as one of the greatest actresses in the history of Hindi cinema. She made her screen debut as a child in Talash-E-Haq in 1935, but her acting carer began in 1942 with Tamanna...
  
  
• Kajol
  Kajol
  Kajol Devgn , better known as Kajol, is an Indian film actress appearing in Hindi films. She is regarded as one of India's most successful and talented female actors....
  
  
• Nandita Das
  Nandita Das
  Nandita Das is an award-winning Indian film actress and director. As an actress, she is known for her performances in Fire , Earth , Bawandar , Kannathil Muthamittal and Aamaar Bhuvan . As a director, she is known for her directorial debut Firaaq , which has won a number of national and...
  
  
• Tabu
  Tabu (actress)
  Tabu is an Indian film actress. She has mainly acted in Hindi films, though she has also starred in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Bengali language films, as well as one American film...
  
  
• Dimple Kapadia
  Dimple Kapadia
  Dimple Chunnibhai Kapadia is an Indian film actress. She made her acting debut at the age of 16, playing the title role in Raj Kapoor's teen romance Bobby . In that same year she married Indian actor Rajesh Khanna, and retired from acting. Kapadia returned to films in 1984 after her separation...
  
  
• Sushmita Sen
  Sushmita Sen
  Sushmita Sen is an Indian actress who appears in mainly Bollywood films. A former model, Sen was crowned Miss Universe in 1994. She was the first Indian woman to win the contest.-Personal life:Sen was born on 19 November 1975....
  
  
• Juhi Chawala
• Karishma Kapoor
• Soha Ali Khan
  Soha Ali Khan
  - Early life :Khan was born into the erstwhile princely family of Pataudi. She has Muslim Pashtun ancestry through Nawabs of Pataudi lineage from her father's side and Bengali Hindu ancestry from her mother's side...
  
  
• Sonali Bendre
  Sonali Bendre
  Sonali Bendre is an Indian actress and model. She has mostly starred in Bollywood films but has acted in many Telugu films as well as a number of Marathi, Tamil and Kannada films. She was also one of the four judges in the fourth season of Indian Idol and India's Got Talent...
  
  
• Priyanka Chopra
  Priyanka Chopra
  Priyanka Chopra is an Indian actress and former Miss World. Before starting her acting career, she worked as a model and gained fame after winning the Miss World title in 2000. She is often referred to by the nickname "Piggy Chops", which was given to her by co-stars on the set of the film...
  
  
• Urmila Matondkar
  Urmila Matondkar
  Urmila Matondkar is an Indian film actress.Matondkar, who made her screen debut as a child artist in the 1980 film Kalyug, debuted as an adult in Narasimha...
  
  
• Preity Zinta
  Preity Zinta
  Preity Zinta is an Indian film actress. She has appeared in Hindi films of Bollywood, as well as Telugu, Punjabi and English language films. After graduating with a degree in criminal psychology, Zinta made her acting debut in Dil Se in 1998 followed by a role in Soldier the same year...
  
  
• Kareena Kapoor
  Kareena Kapoor
  Kareena Kapoor , often informally referred to as Bebo, is an Indian actress who appears in Bollywood films. During her career, Kapoor has received six Filmfare Awards, among nine nominations, and has been noted for her performances in a range of film genres; these include her work from contemporary...
  
  
• Amrita Rao
  Amrita Rao
  Amrita Rao is an Indian actress who appears in Bollywood films.Beginning her career as a model, Rao made her acting debut with Ab Ke Baras...
  
  
• Ayesha Takia
  Ayesha Takia
  -Early life:Ayesha was born in Chembur Mumbai, Maharashtra to a Gujarati father, Nishit and a mother of mixed British-Maharashtrian descent, Faridah. She attended St. Anthony's High School in Chembur...
  
  
• Shriya Saran
  Shriya Saran
  Shriya Saran , also known by the mononym Shriya, is an Indian film actress and model. She has worked in several of the regional industries of Indian cinema, having acted in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi language films, as well as a few films in English, Malayalam and Kannada...
  
  

See also

• Cinema of the world
• Alpavirama South Asian Short Film Festival (Alpavirama)
  Alpavirama South Asian Short Film Festival (Alpavirama)
  The Alpavirama South Asian Short Film Festival is a three day film festival organised by the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad. The first version of the festival was held in Ahmedabad India, from 18 February 2011 to 20 February 2011....
  
  
• Asian cinema
  Asian cinema
  Asian cinema refers to the film industries and films produced in the continent of Asia, and is also sometimes known as Eastern cinema. More commonly however, it is used to refer to the cinema of Eastern, Southeastern and Southern Asia. West Asian cinema is sometimes classified as part of Middle...
  
  
• Cinema of India
  Cinema of India
  The cinema of India consists of films produced across India, which includes the cinematic culture of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal. Indian films came to be followed throughout South Asia and...
  
  
• Cinema of Pakistan
  Cinema of Pakistan
  The cinema of Pakistan refers to Pakistan's film industry. Most of the feature films shot in Pakistan are in Urdu language but may also include films in English, Punjabi, Pashto, Balochi or Sindhi languages....
  
  
• Hindi cinema
• Kannada cinema
• Tamil cinema
  Tamil cinema
  Tamil cinema is the film industry based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, dedicated to the production of films in the Tamil language. It is based in Chennai's Kodambakkam district, where several South Indian film production companies are headquartered...
  
  
• Telugu cinema
  Telugu cinema
  The Cinema of Andhra Pradesh, also referred to as Telugu Cinema or Tollywood, is the Telugu film industry in India. The Telugu language film industry is known for being one of the three largest in terms of no.of films produced yearly in India. The Prasads IMAX theatre in Hyderabad is one of the...
  
  
• World cinema
  World cinema
  World cinema is a term used primarily in English language speaking countries to refer to the films and film industries of non-English speaking countries. It is therefore often used interchangeably with the term foreign film...
  
  
• Sambalpuri Cinema
  Sambalpuri Cinema
  -Introduction:The first ever Sambalpuri movie released was Bhukha or Bhuka. It was released in the year 1989 and was directed by Sabyasachi Mohapatra. It was also the first film from Orissa to get an International Jury Award at the Gijon International Film Festival. The second film in Sambalpuri...
  
  
• List of Hollywood-inspired nicknames

Further reading

• Contemporary Asian Cinema, Anne Tereska Ciecko, editor. Berg, 2006. ISBN 1 84520237 6