FILM DIRECTORS from Bangladesh

Top 3

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Bangladeshi Film Directors of all time. This list of famous Bangladeshi Film Directors is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Mrinal Sen (1923 - 2018)

With an HPI of 50.95, Mrinal Sen is the most famous Bangladeshi Film Director.  His biography has been translated into 33 different languages on wikipedia.

Mrinal Sen (14 May 1923 – 30 December 2018) was a Bengali film director and screenwriter known for his work primarily in Bengali, and a few Hindi and Telugu language films. Regarded as one of the finest Indian filmmakers, along with his contemporaries Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, and Tapan Sinha, Sen played a major role in the New Wave cinema of eastern India. Sen received various national and international honors including eighteen Indian National Film Awards. The Government of India honored him with the Padma Bhushan, and the Government of France honored him with the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, while Russian Government honored him with the Order of Friendship. Sen was also awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest award for filmmakers in India. He was one of the few Indian filmmakers to have won awards at the big three film festivals viz., Cannes, Venice and the Berlinale. Sen was a self described "private Marxist".

2. Ritwik Ghatak (1925 - 1976)

With an HPI of 50.91, Ritwik Ghatak is the 2nd most famous Bangladeshi Film Director.  His biography has been translated into 26 different languages.

Ritwik Kumar Ghatak (; 4 November 1925 – 6 February 1976) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, actor and playwright. Along with prominent contemporary Bengali filmmakers like Satyajit Ray, Tapan Sinha and Mrinal Sen, his cinema is primarily remembered for its meticulous depiction of social reality, partition and feminism. He won the National Film Award's Rajat Kamal Award for Best Story in 1974 for his Jukti Takko Aar Gappo and Best Director's Award from Bangladesh Cine Journalist's Association for Titash Ekti Nadir Naam. The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri for Arts in 1970.

3. Bimal Roy (1909 - 1966)

With an HPI of 42.27, Bimal Roy is the 3rd most famous Bangladeshi Film Director.  His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Bimal Roy (12 July 1909 – 7 January 1966) was an Indian film director. He is particularly noted for his realistic and socialistic films such as Do Bigha Zamin, Parineeta, Biraj Bahu, Devdas, Madhumati, Sujata, Parakh and Bandini, making him an important director of Hindi cinema. Inspired by Italian neo-realistic cinema, he made Do Bigha Zamin after watching Vittorio De Sica's Bicycle Thieves (1948). His work is particularly known for his mise en scène which he employed to portray realism. He won a number of awards throughout his career, including eleven Filmfare Awards, two National Film Awards, and the International Prize of the Cannes Film Festival. Madhumati won 9 Filmfare Awards in 1958, a record held for 37 years.