Shantaram Rajaram Vankudre, born on 18 November 1901 in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, was an Indianfilmmaker,film producerand actor. He made his acting debut in the silent film Surekha Haran in 1921 and directed his first film Netaji Palkar in 1927. He founded the Prabhat Film Company and had a successful career as a filmmaker for almost six decades. Shantaram was a four time winner of National Film Awards and he was honoured with the Padma Vibhushan award in 1992.