Adoor Gopalakrishnan is an Indian film director, producer and scriptwriter. Known for being one of the best and most popular filmmakers of the country, he was also one of the leading figures of the New Indian cinema movement that arose in the 1970s, and revolved around making movies based on realistic issues. Throughout his career of over fifty years, he has made twelve feature films, and several documentary films. He has used film as a medium to depict the society as well as culture of Kerala, the state where he hails from. His films have gained international audience, as most of them were premiered at Venice, Cannes as well as the Toronto International Film Festival. He can be considered as one of the most famous filmmakers from India, along with veterans such as Mrinal Sen and Satyajit Ray. Few of his works include ‘Swayamvaram’, ‘Vidheyan’, and ‘Pinneyum’. He has received numerous honors and awards, for his contribution to cinema. He has won the National Film Award sixteen times, as well as the Kerala State Film Awards seventeen times. He has also received Padma Shri and Padma Vibhushan, the fourth and second highest civilian honors, granted by the Indian state. He has received other honors as well, such as the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, Biswaratna Dr Bhupen Hazarika International Solidarity Award, as well as the Legion of Honour from the French government.