Sumitra Bhave, a social – work teacher and a social scientist-researcher turned to filmmaking in 1985 to communicate her research findings with the illiterate women in India. She thought no other medium was effective enough to convey the verbal and non-verbal thoughts and feelings as the audio-visual one. Throughout her journey the effort has been to combine filmmaking as an effective tool for education, and as an art form. She has four books to her credit. Sumitra Bhave and Sunil Sukthankar, her associate as a co-director, have directed 19 feature films, more than 70 short films, 3 TV serials and 5 telefilms, all of which were written by Sumitra Bhave. Their films have received six international awards, 11 national awards (including the Golden Lotus for the Best Indian Film for ‘Kaasav’) and more than 45 state awards. She has won several individual awards for story, screenplay, lyrics, art direction, costume design and direction. Her films revolve around the socio-political and economic conditions and hence are more relatable to all the classes of society. The films have been screened right from the grassroots level of rural parts to the international platforms in all the six continents