Since the conception of cinema in the subcontinent the Indian movie directors have contributed a great deal to take Indian movies to dizzying heights. In 1913 the first Indian movie was released. The film was Raja Harishchandra directed by Dadasaheb Phalke. This is the reason Phalke is hailed as the father of Indian cinema. Through ages Indian movie directors have helped in the evolution of Indian cinema. While they have entertained the masses with commercial movies they have also presented thought provoking films that have compelled the audiences to introspect.

The talent of the Indian movie directors cannot be put within any geographical boundary. Yet if one is forced to sort out the Indian movie directors then they can be clubbed into the following:

Bollywood Directors: Some of the biggest names in the Indian movie directors belong to the Hindi film industry or Bollywood. The first director to choose Hindi as the medium of filmmaking was Pramathesh Chandra Barua. A number of filmmakers have since then chosen Hindi, the national language, as their medium of filmmaking. Some of the popular Guru Dutt, Raj Kapoor, Bimal Roy, BR Chopra, Yash Chopra, Ketan Mehta are some of the old masters. The new Indian movie directors like Farhan Akhtar, Karan Johar, Rakeysh Mehra, Ashutosh Gowarikar, Nagesh Kukunoor, Rajkumar Hiranu and several others have given a new dimension to the Indian movies.

Tamil Directors: A number of gifted men ventured on to filmmaking in the Tamil film industry. These Indian movie directors have made some of the most wonderful films of Indian cinema.

Marathi Directors: The first film in the history of Indian cinema was made by a Marathi Director. From then on these Indian movie directors have went ahead and set examples for generations to follow. The wide range of themes on which films are made in the Marathi film industry is awe-inspiring.

Bengali Directors: Indian movies entered a new phase riding on the shoulders of the ace Bengali directors. Spanning a period several decades these Indian movie directors presented the most lyrical films of all times and for all types of audiences. The intellectualism of Bengal was apparent from their films. On the other hand the simplicity of India and life at large was also presented to the global audience through the microcosm i.e. cinema.

Malayalam Directors: Some of the most outstanding Indian movie directors belong to the state of Kerala. The works of G Aravindan, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, IV Sasi, Bhaskaran and others have changed the way the Indian films looked. They brought in the element of realism and took Indian cinema to international fame. The global recognition helped Indian cinema to grow and won followers in throughout the world.

Telugu Directors: These Indian movie directors, too, started by making mythological films. But slowly some of the most outstanding films were made by the Telugu directors. Whether it is a commercial film or an art film a Telugu director is adept at making all kinds of films. P Pullaiah, LV Prasad, Gudavalli Ramabrahman, Bhaskar and others are some of the popular Telugu directors in Indian cinema.

Kannada Directors: People like Girish Karnad, BV Karnath, GV Iyer and others have contributed to the development of the Kannada films.

Oriya Directors: Oriya culture and tradition is well portrayed through the Oriya films. Indian movie directors like AK Bir, Nirad Mohapatra and others have often portrayed human emotions as well as the crude social realities to their audiences.

Assamese Directors: These Indian movie directors have gathered many accolades for the Indian cinema.

Manipuri Directors: Although the state is in a state of disturbance yet there are films that have left an indelible mark on the history of Indian cinema.

While Indian movie directors can be classified in this fashion but for any cinema lover language is no barrier. Even for these Indian movie directors films are a medium of expression. While the Bengali directors have made films in Hindi the Tamil directors have also expressed themselves in the Malayalam language. The women film directors on the other hand have also carved a niche for themselves in the Indian film scenario.