The Indira Gandhi Award for Best First Film of a Director is a National Film Award - Golden Lotus Award, given to a feature film director's first film. The National Film Award - Indira Gandhi Award for Best First Film of a Director winners:
| Year | Film | Director | Language |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Baboo Band Baaja | Rajesh Pinjani | Marathi |
| 2010 | Lahore | Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan | Hindi |
| 2009 | A Wednesday | Neeraj Pandey | Hindi |
| 2008 | Frozen[1] | Shivajee Chandrabhushan | Hindi |
| 2007 | 1. Kabul Express 2. Ekantham |
Kabir Khan Madhu Kaithapuram |
Hindi Malayalam |
| 2006 | Parineeta | Pradeep Sarkar | Hindi |
| 2005 | Grahanam | Mohan Krishna Indraganti | Telugu |
| 2004 | Margam | Rajiv Vijaya Raghavan | Malayalam |
| 2003 | 1. Patal Ghar 2. Prohor |
Abhijit Chaudhary Subhadro Chaudhary |
Bengali Bengali |
| 2002 | Thiladaanam | K.N.T. Sastry | Telugu |
| 2001 | Sayahnam | R. Sarath | Malayalam |
| 2000 | 1. Laado 2. Dollar Dreams |
Aswini Chowdhary Sekhar Kammula |
Haryanvi Telugu/English |
| 1999 | Daya | Venu | Malayalam |
| 1998 | Bhoothakkannadi | A. K. Lohitha Das | Malayalam |
| 1997 | Rag Birag | Bidyut Chakraborty | Assamese |
| 1996 | Kahini | Malaya Bhattacharya | Bengali |
| 1995 | Moghamull | G. Rajasekharan | Tamil |
| 1994 | Sunya Theke Suru | Ashoke Viswanathan | Bengali |
| 1993 | Mrs. Beatty's Children | Pamela Rooks | English |
| 1992 | Haldhaar | Sanjeev Hazarika | Assamese |
| 1991 | Perumthachan | Ajayan | Malayalam |
| 1990 | Wosobipo | Gautam Bora | Karbi |
| 1989 | Thrishagni | Nabayendu Ghosh | Hindi |
| 1988 | Ekti Jiban | Raja Mitra | Bengali |
| 1987 | Yeh Woh Manzil To Nahin | Sudhir Mishra | Hindi |
| 1986 | New Delhi Times | Romesh Sharma | Hindi |
| 1985 | Meendum Oru Kaathal Kathai | Prathap Pothan | Tamil |
| 1984 | Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron | Kundan Shah | Hindi |
| 1983 | Kann Sivanthaal Mann Sivakkum | Sridhar Rajan | Tamil |
| 1982 | Aadhar Sila | Ashok Ahuja | Hindi |
| 1981 | Maina Tadanta | Utpalendu Chakraborthy | Bengali |
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