Dharitri Ganguly
Saraswatibai Phalke: Editor
She is the first feature film editor in Indian cinema’s history. Saraswatibai not just edited, but also performed various roles including film perforation, set work, like holding light reflectors during production, and even cooking for the crew. She also helped her husband, Dadasaheb Phalke, finance India's first film, Raja Harishchandra, by selling her jewellery.
Durgabai Kamat: Actor
Indian cinema's first actress, Durgabai debuted in Dadasaheb Phalke’s 1913 film Mohini Bhasmasur. Kamlabai Gokhale, her daughter, who starred alongside her, was India's first female child actor.
Devika Rani: Actor
The First Lady of Indian cinema, Devika Rani, Rabindranath Tagore's grandniece, debuted in a film titled Karma (1933), produced and acted by her husband Himanshu Rai. This is the first English language talkie made by an Indian, and was one of the earliest Indian films to feature a kissing scene. The scene, between the lead pair Himanshu and Devika, lasted for four minutes, and till day stands as the longest kissing scene in Indian cinema. She also sang a song in the film, a Hindi-English bi-lingual song, said to be Bollywood's first English song. Devika received a Padmashree and was the first recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award.
Fatma Begum: Director, producer, actor
Fatma is India’s first known female director and producer. During her groundbreaking career, which spanned from 1922 to 1937, she also worked as a film actress and screenwriter and owned her own production company, Fatma Film Company, later renamed as Victoria Fatma Film Company
BR Vijayalakshmi: Cinematographer
Cited as Asia's first woman cinematographer, her debut feature, Chinna Veedu, a Tamil film, got released in 1985. Vijayalakshmi has worked in 22 feature films between 1985 and 1995.
Anjuli Shukla: Cinematographer
Anjuli Shukla is the first and till date the only Indian woman to have won the National Film Award for Best Cinematography. She won it for her debut film, Kutty Srank.
Meena Narayanan: Sound Engineer
India’s first woman sound engineer, a saree-clad Tamil woman, was only in high school when her husband, A Narayanan, a renowned director in early Tamil cinema, assigned her to be the assistant of the famous sound engineer—Poddar. In 1934, when Narayanan launched Sree Srinivasa Cinetone, India's first talkie recording studio, and Poddar left soon after, Meena was entrusted with the 1936 film Viswamitra, her first solo stint, which went on to become a huge success. She went on to work in over nine films including a documentary of the Eucharist Congress.
Reshma Pathan: Stuntwoman
Reshma, aka the 'Sholay Girl' was the first stuntwoman of the Indian film industry. She played Hema Malini’s stunt double in Sholay, and is also the first female to become a member of the Movie Stunt Artists Association. She started her career at a mere age of 14, and has almost 400 films in her kitty.
Saroj Khan: Choreographer
Saroj Khan, who started her career as a child artiste in Nazarana, a background dancer in the song Aaiye Meherbaan from Howrah Bridge, she went on to become the first female choregrapher in Hindi cinema whose film career spanned more than 60 years.
Gohar Mamajiwala: Actor and studio owner
At just 16, Gohar stepped into the world of silent films, to run her family, and left a lasting impact with her performance in Baap Kamai. She partnered with Chandulal Shah, and co-founded Ranjit Movietone, one of India’s earliest and most influential studios, shaping the golden age of filmmaking.