Dada Saheb Phalke
Today is the death anniversary of veteran film maker Dada Saheb Phalke, the father of Indian cinema. On this day in 1944, he said goodbye to this world. Dada Saheb Phalke, who founded the Phalke Films Company in 1912, was made in India’s first silent film Raja Harishchandra (1913). Which was India’s first full -length feature film. It was a commercial success and a sign of the beginning of a prosperous industry.
On 16 February 1944, his death even after so many years, Phalke is considered to be the ‘father of Indian cinema’. Dadasaheb Phalke wrote the first script of Indian cinema.
Dada Saheb Phalke: Personal Life
He was born on 30 April 1870 as a Dhundiraj Phalke in a Marathi family in Trimbak, Bombay Presidency. Dhundiraj Phalke’s father Govind Sadashiv Phalke was a Sanskrit scholar and Hindu priest. His mother Dwarabai was a housewife. Phalke completed his primary school education in Trimbakeshwar and Matriculation in Bombay. In 1885, Phalke completed a one -year drawing course from Sir JJ School of Arts, Bombay. He then joined Kala Bhavan at Maharaja Sayajirao University in Baroda and completed the syllabus in 1890 in oil painting and water color painting. He was also capable of architecture and modeling. Phalke bought a film camera in the same year and started experimenting with photography, printing and processing.
This was the initial career
On getting permission to use the equipment of Kala Bhavan, he established a photo studio which is known as Mr. Phalke Enggress and Photo Printing. After failing in the initial phase, he made progress while working on stage for drama organizations. The association also got its benefits. Phalke started getting small roles in his plays. He also spent some time as a photographer for the Archaeological Survey of India. In 1912, Phalke took over a broad position where he made a small glass position for the shooting of the film. He also pre-arrangements a dark room with a plan to process films. After going through some challenging circumstances, Phalke made the first film ‘Raja Harishchandra’ which was premiered at Bombay’s Olympia Theater. It was a film that performed well at the box office and founded the film industry.
Rolls to actresses in Indian cinema
When the British were showing Western films in India, Phalke included mythology as a tool to connect Indians with their roots which was an easy but progressive step. When Phalke made King Harishchandra, the general idea of a female actor was a curse for the society. He needed to project a man (Anna Salunke) to play the role of Queen Taramati, wife of King Harishchandra.
In any case, he corrected it in his second silent film Mohini Bhasmasura (1913) when he offered Durgabai Kamat’s role of Parvati and his teenage daughter Kamalabai Gokhale as Mohini. Kamat, who was a single parent, was rejected by his society to play this role. But he made it possible for women to play the lead role in films. Years later, Phalke cast his daughter Mandakini Phalke in Lanka Dahan (1917) and Shri Krishna’s birth (1918). Phalke’s wife Saraswatibai also played an important role in the Indian film. She was India’s first film editor to work in films like Raja Harishchandra.
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