Maharashtra State Film Award for Best Director

The Maharashtra State Film Award for Best Director is an award presented annually at the Maharashtra State Film Awards to the best director in Marathi cinema. The awards are managed directly by the Government of Maharashtra under the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, Maharashtra. The recipients are selected by a jury appointed by the state government.

The award is presented across three tiers: Director I, Director II, and Director III; following the same structure as the Best Film awards. The Director I award is renamed the Bhalji Pendharkar Award for Best Director, in honour of Bhalji Pendharkar. The Director II award is named the Raja ParanjapeAward for Best Director, honouring Raja Paranjape. The Director III award is named the Raja Thakur Award for Best Director, in tribute to Raja Thakur.