Muzaffar Ali is a fashion designer, director, poet, filmmaker and an artist, who belongs to a royal Muslim Rajput family of Kotwara. Some of his popular works include Umroa Jaan (1981), Gaman (1978) and Khizan (1995). He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2005 and is also a recipient of the Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhawna Award, for his outstanding contribution towards the promotion of communal harmony, peace and goodwill.