"I have to keep making films in my country so that it gets established as an industry at home.” — Dadasaheb Phalke.
Indian cinema now reigns supreme worldwide, winning hearts from far and wide with its captivating narratives, dazzling spectacles, and enchanting song-and-dance sequences. One of the world's largest entertainment industries today, Indian cinema has set standards of creativity and innovation in the global arena and is only going higher with time. However, if we take a pause and try to find out the genesis of this, would realize that it all began with one individual; an ordinary man with extraordinary dreams; a visionary who brought the magic of cinema to India.
Born on April 30, 1870, Phalke made India's first full-length feature film, titled 'Raja Harishchandra', in 1913. It was a silent film (with English, Marathi, and Hindi-language intertitles), and starred Dattatraya Damodar Dabke, Anna Salunke, Bhalchandra Phalke, and Gajanan Vasudev Sane. The film emerged as a commercial success, leading to the foundation of the Indian film industry.
"Dada Saheb Phalke was the visionary who propagated ‘Make in India’ and brought 'Aatma Nirbhartha' to the Indian cinema sector. In his films, he always used local artists and propagated the inclusion of indigenous locations and technical support which were indigenously available. As a result of Dada Saheb’s persistence, vision, and patriotism, the Indian cinema industry is standing high today," said Shri Chandrashekhar Pusalkar, grandson of Dadasaheb Phalke.
However, although 'Raja Harishchandra' is India's first full-length feature film, earning Dadasaheb Phalke the moniker "The Father of Indian Cinema", it is NOT THE FIRST Indian film. Today, to mark Phalke's death anniversary, let's know more about that in this article.
'Raja Harishchandra' premiered at the Olympia Theatre, Bombay, on 21 April 1913, and had its theatrical release on 3 May 1913 at the Coronation Cinematograph and Variety Hall, Girgaon. However, almost a year before the release of 'Raja Harishchandra', Dadasaheb Torne's silent film 'Shree Pundalik' was released theatrically in India.
Hence, if you ask about the first Indian film, it is 'Shree Pundalik' and not 'Raja Harishchandra'.
It is worth noting that 'Shree Pundalik' is not celebrated as much as ‘Raja Harishchandra' as it was a photographic recording of a Marathi play, and, although shot in India, its reels were processed in London. Also, the cameraperson was a British.
Born on April 13, 1890, Dadasaheb Torne came to Mumbai at the age of 10-11 and started working at a theatre company. He was exposed to foreign films at a young age and decided to make a film at the age of 21.
He imported raw film and a camera, and made India's first film, 'Shree Pundalik'. The 22-minute-long silent film was released on 18 May 1912 at the Coronation Cinematograph, Girgaum, Mumbai.
He went on to make several other films, including 'Chhatrapati Sambhaji', 'Bhedi Rajkumar', 'Thakasen Rajputra', 'Mazi Ladaki', etc.
Dadasaheb Phalke produced a short film (titled 'Ankurachi Wadh') before making 'Raja Harishchandra' to draw investors.
He was not only the director and producer of 'Raja Harishchandra', rather, he handled script development, make-up, production design, editing, and more as well.
His wife Saraswati designed the costumes of the characters in the film.
The 2009 Marathi film 'Harishchandrachi Factory' depicts Phalke's struggle in making 'Raja Harishchandra'. The film was selected as India's official entry to the Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category.
The Dadasaheb Phalke Award (for lifetime contribution to cinema) is considered the highest official recognition for film personalities in India.
