Fatma Begum was the first female director. Fatma Begum, the wife of a Muslim Nawab, started acting in Urdu plays and then in films. It was nothing short of a revolution in those days. On screen for the first time Kohinoor Studios in 1922. She went on to launch her own production company in 1926, called Fatma, and then the Victoria-Fatma Film. With her two stunningly beautiful daughters, Sultana and Zubeida, themselves stars of the silent screen, she made the first of her eight silent films, a delightful big budget fairytale called Bulbul-e-Paristan. This movie was in the style of the oriental extravaganza which would remain popular until the 1960s.

Her other three popular films were Heer Ranjha, Naseeb Ka Devi and Shakuntala. Fatma Begum had also acted in 36 films until 1938. Her daughter Zubeida also had an extremely successful career that lasted till 1940s. In the history of Indian cinema she was probably the first female director.