Fatma Begum was an Indian actress, director and screenwriter. She was considered to be the first female film director of the Indian film industry. She started her career as an Urdu stage actress and made her acting debut in Bollywood with the 1922 silent film Veer Abhimanyu. In 1926, she directed her first film, Bulbul-e-Paristan, which was a high-budget fantasy film with special effects. She went on to direct many more films. Fatma Begum was married to Nawab Sidi Ibrahim Muhammad Yakut Khan III of Sachin State and had three daughters – Zubeida, Sultana and Shehzadi. All three of her daughters followed in her footsteps and became famous actresses of Bollywood.