Director

Jijo Punnoose

Jijo Punnoose is basically the guy who keeps breaking barriers in Indian cinema—and we mean that literally. As a Kerala-born director, producer, and actor, he's made some genuinely historic contributions that go way beyond just making good movies. He directed Padayottam in 1982, which holds the distinction of being South Indian cinema's first 70 mm film, and then followed it up with My Dear Kuttichathan in 1984, a film that made history as India's first-ever 3D movie. Being the son of Navodaya Appachan, the legendary founder of Navodaya Studios, definitely gave him access to resources, but Jijo used that privilege to actually innovate rather than just coast along. What really sets Jijo apart is his willingness to experiment with technology and push boundaries at a time when most filmmakers were playing it safe. His contribution to Bollywood and Indian cinema more broadly goes beyond the films themselves—he essentially showed that Indian directors could embrace cutting-edge filmmaking techniques and compete on a global scale. While his most celebrated work remains those groundbreaking films from the early '80s, his legacy continues to influence how the industry thinks about technical innovation and the possibilities of Indian filmmaking.