Indian cinema

Where

Bombay (now Mumbai)

When

Released on 3 May 1913

Who

Made by Dadasaheb Phalke (1870 to 1944)

India's first full-length feature film, a silent film about the truthful king Harishchandra from Indian legend. Phalke wrote, directed, produced and edited it after seeing a film about the life of Christ in 1911 and learning filmmaking in London. No women would act, so men played the female roles. Phalke is called the father of Indian cinema, and the country's top film award is named after him.

When

Released on 14 March 1931

Who

Made by Ardeshir Irani; starring Zubeida and Prithviraj Kapoor

The first Indian talkie, a film with recorded speech and songs. It was a fantasy about a king, his two wives and a lost princess, and its songs made it a hit. The studio was near a railway line, so much of it was shot at night to avoid train noise. No complete copy is known to survive.

When

1937

Who

Produced by Ardeshir Irani; directed by Moti Gidwani

The first colour feature film made entirely in India, shot with an American process called Cinecolor. Its story, by the writer Saadat Hasan Manto, is about poor farmers. V. Shantaram's Sairandhri (1933) had some colour scenes earlier, but its prints were processed in Germany.

When

1908 to 1994

Who

Actor; co-founder of Bombay Talkies with Himanshu Rai

Called the first lady of Indian cinema, she trained in filmmaking in Berlin and, with her husband Himanshu Rai, ran the Bombay Talkies studio from 1934. She starred in films such as Achhut Kanya (1936). In 1969 she became the first person to receive the Dadasaheb Phalke Award.

Where

Calcutta (now Kolkata)

When

1921 to 1992

Key works

Pather Panchali (1955), Aparajito, Apur Sansar, Charulata, Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne

India's most famous film director. His first film, Pather Panchali (1955), about a poor village boy called Apu, won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film and the Best Human Document prize at Cannes in 1956; with two sequels it forms the Apu Trilogy. On 30 March 1992, too ill to travel, he accepted an honorary Oscar by video from a hospital bed in Calcutta, and India gave him the Bharat Ratna the same year. He died weeks later.

When

Advertising work from 1943

Who

Satyajit Ray as illustrator, book designer and type designer

Before films, Ray worked as a junior visualiser (someone who plans how an advertisement will look) at the British agency D.J. Keymer in Calcutta, and he designed book covers for Signet Press. In 1944 he illustrated a children's edition of Pather Panchali for Signet, which is how he came to the story he later filmed. He designed his own film posters and title cards, drew Bengali lettering, edited and illustrated the children's magazine Sandesh, and designed English typefaces such as Ray Roman and Ray Bizarre.

When

1957; Oscar nomination in 1958

Who

Directed by Mehboob Khan; starring Nargis

The story of Radha, a poor village woman who raises her sons alone and stands up to a cruel moneylender. It was India's first entry for the Oscar for best foreign-language film and the first to be nominated, at the ceremony of March 1958; it lost to Italy's Nights of Cabiria. As of October 2026, only two other Indian films have been nominated in that category: Salaam Bombay! (1988) and Lagaan (2001).

When

Won the Oscar on 11 April 1983

Who

Costume designer, 1929 to 2020

The first Indian to win an Oscar. She shared the award for Best Costume Design with John Mollo for Richard Attenborough's film Gandhi (1982). Before that she had designed costumes for Hindi films for nearly 30 years, from Guru Dutt's films to Lagaan, in more than 100 films in all.

When

22 February 2009

Who

Resul Pookutty, A.R. Rahman and Gulzar

Slumdog Millionaire, a British film by Danny Boyle set in Mumbai, won eight Oscars, and Indians won in three of those categories: Resul Pookutty for Sound Mixing (with Ian Tapp and Richard Pryke), A.R. Rahman for Original Score, and Rahman with the lyricist Gulzar for Original Song, "Jai Ho". The film was based on the novel Q and A by Vikas Swarup, seen here on the left.

When

12 March 2023

Who

Music by M.M. Keeravani; lyrics by Chandrabose

A fast Telugu dance song from S.S. Rajamouli's film RRR (2022). It won the Oscar for Best Original Song, the first song from an Indian film to do so, after also winning a Golden Globe. Its hook step, danced in step by the two heroes, went around the world.

Where

Mudumalai National Park, Tamil Nadu

When

12 March 2023

Who

Directed by Kartiki Gonsalves; produced by Guneet Monga

A short documentary about Bomman and Bellie, a couple from the Kattunayakan tribe, who raise an orphaned baby elephant called Raghu (seen here) at an elephant camp. It won the Oscar for Best Documentary Short Film, the first Indian film to win in that category, on the same night as Naatu Naatu.

When

Given since 1969

Who

The Government of India, presented by the President at the National Film Awards

India's highest award in cinema, given for a lifetime's contribution and named after Dadasaheb Phalke. The winner receives a Swarna Kamal (golden lotus), a cash prize and a shawl. The first went to Devika Rani in 1969. As of October 2026 the latest is the Kannada actor Anant Nag (shown here), given the award for 2024 at a ceremony in Kevadia, Gujarat, on 22 September 2026; before him came Mohanlal (2023) and Mithun Chakraborty (2022).

When

Since 1954

Who

Government of India; presented by the President

India's main state awards for films, given every year for films of the year before, in every Indian language. The top prizes are the Swarna Kamal (golden lotus) and the Rajat Kamal (silver lotus). The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is presented at the same ceremony. The 72nd awards, for films of 2024, were presented on 22 September 2026.

When

Grand Prix at Cannes, 25 May 2024

Who

Director; studied at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune

Key works

All We Imagine as Light (2024), A Night of Knowing Nothing (2021)

Her film All We Imagine as Light, about two nurses in Mumbai, was the first Indian film in the main competition at Cannes in 30 years, and it won the Grand Prix. At the same festival Anasuya Sengupta became the first Indian to win best actress in the Un Certain Regard section, and FTII student Chidananda S. Naik won the first prize for film-school shorts (La Cinef). As of October 2026 these were the latest Indian wins at Cannes.

When

1931 to 2019

Who

Animator, often called the father of Indian animation

He began in 1956 at the new cartoon unit of the government's Films Division, trained by Clair Weeks, an animator from Disney. In 1972 he started his own studio, Ram Mohan Biographics, which made advertisements and title sequences. He co-directed the Indian and Japanese animated feature Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama (1992) with Yugo Sako, and created Meena, a UNICEF cartoon girl for South Asian children.