The National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC) based in Mumbai is the central agency established in 1975, to encourage high quality Indian cinema. It functions in areas of film financing, production and distribution and under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. The primary goal of the NFDC is to plan, promote and organise an integrated and efficient development of the Indian film industry and foster excellence in cinema.
History The National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC) was established in 1975. Over the years, NFDC has provided a wide range of services essential to the growth of Indian cinema especially Indian parallel cinema in the 1970s and 1980s. The NFDC (and its predecessor the Film Finance Corporation) has so far funded or produced over 300 films. These films, in various Indian languages, have been widely acclaimed and have won many national and international awards. An example from the early 2000s is the third ever Kashmiri feature film, Bub ('father' in English), which was directed by Jyoti Sarup.
In 1982, NFDC, chaired by D. V. S. Raju, was also one of the production companies for Gandhi, which won eight Academy Awards.Wakeman, John. World Film Directors, Volume 2. The H. W. Wilson Company. 1988. 82.
Film journalist and former editor of Filmfare, B. K. Karanjia remained the chairman of the NFDC for several years. He had been instrumental in the establishment of its predecessor, Film Finance Corporation. Director, Ramesh Sippy took over the position of chairman of NFDC in 2012. He replaced actor Om Puri who was appointed in 2008. In 2026,
Cinemas of India In 2013, NFDC started its label, "Cinemas of India", specifically to promote and distribute the parallel cinema film produced by it, since the 1980s. This also includes the separate "Cinemas of India" website, many of the movies which have long been out of circulation are now restored, and available as free online streaming and also as DVDs. Notable films in the series, include Mirch Masala (1987), Ek Din Achanak (1989), Train to Pakistan (1998), Mammo (1994), Uski Roti (1969), Kamla Ki Maut (1989) and 27 Down (1974).
Awards In capacity as the producer of various films, NFDC has received various awards. National Film Awards Year (Awards) Title Language Category Shared with 1980 – 28th National Film Awards Aakrosh Hindi Best Feature Film in Hindi Director – Govind Nihalani 1982 - 30th National Film Awards Aparoopa Assamese Best Feature Film in Assamese Director – Jahnu Barua 1983 – 31st National Film Awards Adi Shankaracharya Sanskrit Best Feature Film Director – G. V. Iyer 1983 – 31st National Film Awards Maya Miriga Odia Second Best Feature Film Director – Nirad N. Mohapatra 1984 – 32nd National Film Awards Bengali Best Feature Film in Bengali Director – Satyajit Ray 1984 – 32nd National Film Awards Music of Satyajit Ray English Best Non-Feature Film Director – Utpalendu Chakrabarty 1984 – 32nd National Film Awards Hindi Best First Film of a Director Director – Kundan Shah 1986 – 34th National Film Awards Mirch Masala Hindi Best Feature Film in Hindi Director – Ketan Mehta 1987 – 35th National Film Awards Pestonjee Hindi Best Feature Film in Hindi Director – Vijaya Mehta 1987 – 35th National Film Awards Antarjali Jatra Bengali Best Feature Film in Bengali Director – Gautam Ghose 1988 – 36th National Film Awards Salaam Bombay! Hindi Best Feature Film in Hindi Co-producer – Mirabai FilmsCo-producer -Doordarshan Director – Mira Nair 1988 – 36th National Film Awards Main Zinda Hoon Hindi Best Film on Other Social Issues Co-producer -Doordarshan Director – Sudhir Mishra 1989 – 37th National Film Awards Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro Hindi Best Feature Film in Hindi Director – Saeed Akhtar Mirza 1989 – 37th National Film Awards Ganashatru Bengali Best Feature Film in Bengali Director – Satyajit Ray 1989 – 37th National Film Awards Percy Gujarati Best Feature Film in Gujarati Director – Pervez Merwanji 1989 – 37th National Film Awards Marhi Da Deeva Punjabi Best Feature Film in Punjabi Director – Surinder Singh 1989 – 37th National Film Awards Mane Kannada Best Feature Film in Kannada Director – Girish Kasaravalli 1990 – 38th National Film Awards Marupakkam Tamil Best Feature Film Director – K. S. Sethumadhavan 1990 – 38th National Film Awards Ek Doctor Ki Maut Hindi Second Best Feature Film Director – Tapan Sinha 1991 – 39th National Film Awards Agantuk Bengali Best Feature Film Director – Satyajit Ray 1991 – 39th National Film Awards Diksha Hindi Best Feature Film in Hindi Co-producer – Doordarshan Director – Arun Kaul 1991 – 39th National Film Awards Dharavi Hindi Best Feature Film in Hindi Co-producer – Doordarshan Director – Sudhir Mishra 1991 – 39th National Film Awards Durga Hindi Best Film on Family Welfare Director – Basu Chatterjee 1992 – 40th National Film Awards Ek Hota Vidushak Marathi Best Feature Film in Marathi Director – Jabbar Patel 1992 – 40th National Film Awards Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda Hindi Best Feature Film in Hindi Director – Shyam Benegal 1992 – 40th National Film Awards Tahader Katha Bengali Best Feature Film in Bengali Director – Buddhadeb Dasgupta 1992 – 40th National Film Awards Miss Beatty's Children English Best First Film of a Director Co-producer – Doordarshan Co-producer – Rooks AV Director – Pamela Rooks 1993 – 41st National Film Awards Antareen Bengali Best Feature Film in Bengali Co-producer – Doordarshan Director – Mrinal Sen 1994 – 42nd National Film Awards Mammo Hindi Best Feature Film in Hindi Co-producer – Doordarshan Director – Shyam Benegal 1994 – 42nd National Film Awards Amidini Bengali Best Feature Film in Bengali Co-producer – Doordarshan Director – Chidananda Dasgupta 1994 – 42nd National Film Awards Wheelchair Bengali Best Film on Other Social Issues Director – Tapan Sinha 1994 – 42nd National Film Awards Nirbachana Odia Best Film on Environment Conservation/Preservation Co-producer – Doordarshan Director – Biplab Ray Chowdhury 1995 – 43rd National Film Awards Bangarwadi Marathi Best Feature Film in Marathi Co-producer – Doordarshan Director – Amol Palekar 1995 – 43rd National Film Awards The Making of the Mahatma English Best Feature Film in English Director – Shyam Benegal 1995 – 43rd National Film Awards Stri Telugu Best Feature Film in Telugu Director – K. S. Sethumadhavan 1995 – 43rd National Film Awards Yugant Bengali Best Feature Film in Bengali Director – Aparna Sen 1995 – 43rd National Film Awards Doghi Marathi Best Film on Other Social Issues Co-producer – Doordarshan Director – Sumitra Bhave Director – Sunil Sukathankar 1995 – 43rd National Film Awards Sanabi Meitei Best Feature Film in Manipuri Director – Aribam Syam Sharma 1997 – 45th National Film Awards Mangamma Malayalam Best Feature Film in Malayalam Director – T. V. Chandran 1997 – 45th National Film Awards Shesha Drushti Odia Best Feature Film in Odia Director – Apurba Kishore Bir 1998 – 46th National Film Awards Samar Hindi Best Feature Film in Hindi Co-producer – Shyam BenegalCo-producer – Sahyadri Films Director – Shyam Benegal 1999 – 47th National Film Awards Biswaprakash Odia Best Feature Film in Odia Director – Sushant Misra 2001 – 49th National Film Awards Bub Kashmiri Best Feature Film on National Integration Director – Jyoti Sarup 2001 – 49th National Film Awards Hemanter Pakhi Bengali Best Feature Film in Bengali Director – Urmi Chakraborty 2001 – 49th National Film Awards Thilaadanam Telugu Best First Film of a Director Director – K. N. T. Sastry 2001 – 49th National Film Awards Magunira Shagada Odia Best Feature Film in Odia Director – Prafulla Mohanty 2002 – 50th National Film Awards Vastupurush Marathi Best Feature Film in Marathi Director – Sumitra Bhave Director – Sunil Sukhtankar 2003 – 51st National Film Awards Dance Like a Man English Best Feature Film in English Director – Pamela Rooks 2003 – 51st National Film Awards Raghu Romeo Hindi Best Feature Film in Hindi Director – Rajat Kapoor 2009 – 57th National Film Awards Paltadacho Munis Konkani Best Feature Film in Konkani Director – Laxmikant Shetgaonkar 2011 – 59th National Film Awards Anhe Ghore Da Daan Punjabi Best Feature Film in Punjabi Director – Gurvinder Singh2012 – 60th National Film Awards The Good Road Gujarati Best Feature Film in GujaratiDirector- Gyan Correa2015 – 63rd National Film Awards Chauthi Koot Punjabi Best Feature Film in Punjabi Director – Gurvinder Singh
International awards
Film Award Category Gandhi (1982) 55th Academy Awards Academy Award for Best Picture 36th British Academy Film Awards BAFTA Award for Best Film David di Donatello Awards David di Donatello for Best Foreign Film 40th Golden Globe Awards Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film National Board of Review Awards 1982 National Board of Review Award for Best Film 1982 New York Film Critics Circle Awards New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Film Films produced