Shekhar Kapur (born 6 December 1945) is a critically acclaimed Indian film director, producer and actor. He rose to popularity with the Hindi language movie Bandit Queen based upon the life of Phoolan Devi, an infamous Indian outlaw. His historical biopics of Queen Elizabeth (Elizabeth and its sequel The Golden Age) garnered 7 Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actress for Cate Blanchett.