 "Dadasaheb Phalke")
It required a very long time for Dhundiraj Govind Phalke to find his passion, the years set apart by personal misfortune and disappointment. A painter, publisher, printer and photographer, he found his calling as a filmmaker and came to be respected as Dadasaheb Phalke only to surrender everything at the peak of his career and move to Varanasi.
He made the silent film Raja Harishchandra (1913), India's first full-length feature film, within a year of establishing Phalke Films Company in 1912. It was a commercial success and signalled the beginning of a thriving industry.
Today, 80 years after his demise on 16 February 1944, Phalke is regarded as the 'Father of Indian Cinema'.
Dadasaheb Phalke: Personal Life
He was born on April 30, 1870, as Dhundiraj Phalke at Trimbak, Bombay Presidency to a Marathi family. Dhundiraj Phalke's dad, Govind Sadashiv Phalke was a Sanskrit scholar and Hindu priest. His mother Dwarkabai was a homemaker.
Phalke finished his primary schooling in Trimbakeshwar and his matriculation in Bombay. In 1885 Phalke finished a one-year drawing course from Sir JJ School of Arts, Bombay.
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Afterward, he joined Kala Bhavan, at the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda and followed through with a course in oil painting and watercolour painting in 1890. He was likewise capable in architecture and modelling. Phalke bought a film camera that same year and began experimenting with photography, printing, and processing.
Dadasaheb Phalke: Career
Permitted to utilize the Kala Bhavan's equipment, he set up a photo studio known as Shri Phalke's Engraving and Photo Printing. After failing in the early stage, he made progress with working at stage curtains for drama organizations. The association likewise brought its advantages; Phalke began getting small roles in their plays. He also spent some time as a photographer for the Archaeological Survey of India.
In 1912, Phalke assumed an extensive position where he built a little glass space to shoot film. He likewise pre-arranged a dark room with plans to process films. After going through a few challenging conditions, Phalke made the first film 'Raja Harishchandra', premiered at the Olympia Theater in Bombay. It was a movie that did well at the box office and established the film industry.
Dadasaheb Phalke: Introduction of Actresses in Indian cinema
When the British were screening Western movies in India, Phalke involved mythology as a device to link Indians to their roots, an easy yet progressive step. "It was very brave of him," says Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, director of the Film Heritage Foundation.
When Phalke made Raja Harishchandra, the general idea of a woman actor was anathema to society. He needed to project a man (Anna Salunke) to play the part of King Harishchandra's wife, Queen Taramati.
In any case, he corrected this in his second silent film, Mohini Bhasmasur (1913) when he offered the role of Parvati to Durgabai Kamat and that of Mohini to her teenage daughter Kamlabai Gokhale. Kamat, who was a single parent, was disowned by her society for taking the role. But she made it possible for women to play leading roles in movies.
Years later, Phalke cast his own daughter, Mandakini Phalke, in Lanka Dahan (1917) and Shri Krishna Janma (1918). Phalke's wife, Saraswatibai, also played a significant role in Indian film. She was India's first film editor, working with films like Raja Harishchandra.
