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The actress best known for her iconic Basanti character in Sholay in turn introduced India to an icon with her directorial debut.

Dil Aashna Hai starred the late Divya Bharti opposite a very young Shah Rukh Khan. The film didn't do well but the actor, well, did.

Hema found more success with a TV show she made called Noopur, a drama starring herself as a Bharatnatyam dancer.

Image: Hema Malini

Her acting debut was for Satyajit Ray, and after a long and wonderful innings as an actress, Aparna took to direction with great and natural zeal.

Her first film, 36, Chowringhee Lane, got rave reviews, and set her on the path of making serious cinema.

Films like Paroma and Sati can be considered feminist, and successes like Paromitar Ek Din and, more recently, Mr & Mrs Iyer, have found near-unanimous critical applause.

Her last film was The Japanese Wife, which released a few months ago.

A longtime actress working in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi cinema, Revathi made her first film in 2002.

Mitr, My Friend was about a complicated man-woman relationship, and the film found its audience, winning her a Best Director (English) National Award that year.

Her next film, Phir Milenge, focussed on AIDS-awareness. Her last project was as one of the ten directors of last year's highly acclaimed Kerala Cafe, a portmanteau project.

Image: Revath