Shantaram Govind Athavale (21 January 1910 – 2 May 1975) was an Indian director of Marathi, Hindi and English language films, a lyricist, poet, and author.

[1] At Prabhat, as a lyricist under V. Shantaram and working alongside Vishram Bedekar, Master Vinayak, Keshavrao Bhole and others, Athavale would be part of the generation considered pioneers of Marathi cinema.

[2] Athavale's contribution as lyricist to Sant Tukaram, the first Indian film to achieve critical international success, was highly regarded.

[1] In 1948, Athavale made his debut as a director with Bhagya Rekha, which focused on a man who is part of the independence movement and must leave his pregnant wife when forced to go underground.

[6] In the early 1960s, Athavale switched to working in English, making a series of documentaries for the Films Division of India.