Dilip Purushottam Chitre was among notable Indian writers and critics to emerge in the post-Independence period. Born on September 17, 1938, he was not only a significant multi-lingual writer (Marathi and English), but also a painter & an eminent filmmaker. 

Chitre's family moved to Mumbai from Gujarat in the year 1951 when he was 12 years old. Already fluent his mother tongue Marathi, he also Gujarati, Hindi and English well in school. Later, he also learned Bengali and Urdu. Chitre began writing poetry at the age of 16. He published his first collection of poems in 1960. He was one of the first and most important inspirations behind the famous Little Magazine Movement of the sixties in Marathi. 

In the year 1975, he was bestowed a visiting fellowship by the International Writing Programe of the University of Iowa in Iowa City, United States. He has also worked as a director of the Indian Poetry Library, documentation, and translation center at Bharat Bhavan, a multi-arts foundation. 

Chitre’s collected poems were published in the 1990s in three volumes. His selected English poems (1964–2007) and Shesha English translations of selected Marathi poems - both published by Poetrywala - are among his last books published in 2007. He has also amended An Anthology of Marathi Poetry (1945–1965). All these compilations were much appreciated by most of the critics and the masses. 

He stepped into the film industry in the year 1969, making documentaries and short films. In 1984, he made 'Godan', in Hindi, which won several awards. In all, he made one feature film, about a dozen of documentary films, several short films in the cinema format, and about twenty video documentary features. 
Apart from film making and writing poetry, Chitre has also written columns for most of the eminent journals in India.