Mumbai, February 15: On Christmas night in 1910, the America-India Picture Palace in Bombay (now Mumbai) was packed with eager viewers. A foreign film titled “The Life of Christ” captivated the audience. Among them sat a 40-year-old man whose eyes were not on the film but on a vision for the future.
As he watched Jesus Christ come to life on screen, a spark ignited in his mind: “If Christ can come alive on screen, why can’t our Ram and Krishna?”
That night, the man who left the theater was not just Dhundiraj Govind Phalke; he was a visionary who would later be known as Dadasaheb Phalke. Born on April 30, 1870, in a Marathi Brahmin family in Trimbakeshwar, Nashik, Phalke faced skepticism when he expressed his desire to create “moving pictures.” At that time, cinema was dismissed as “British magic,” but Phalke was determined to prove it was science.
To demonstrate this, he planted a pea seed in a pot and filmed its growth frame by frame over a month. When he played the footage in rapid succession, the audience was astonished to see the plant grow on screen. This was India’s first time-lapse experiment.
However, realizing dreams comes at a cost. To make films, he needed a camera and raw film stock, which were only available in London. Enter the unsung heroine of this story, Phalke’s wife, Saraswatibai. While the world laughed at Phalke, she sold her jewelry and gave him her wedding necklace. With those funds, Phalke traveled to London in 1912 and returned with a Williamson camera, laying the foundation for an entire industry.
It was now time to create India’s first film, “Raja Harishchandra.” The story was ready, and the camera was set, but a peculiar problem arose: who would play the role of Queen Taramati? In conservative India of 1913, it was considered taboo for women from respectable families to act in films. Desperate, Phalke even approached brothels, but the women refused to appear on camera.
Refusing to give up, Phalke noticed a cook named Anna Salunke working at a tea stall. Salunke had a certain grace, and Phalke dressed him in a sari, thus creating Indian cinema‘s first “heroine.”
Phalke’s home in Dadar transformed into a “film factory.” This was not just his struggle; his entire family was involved. Saraswatibai not only cooked for a crew of 60-70 but also mixed chemicals for developing film reels and held reflectors in the scorching sun. In many ways, she was the first female technician in Indian cinema.
On May 3, 1913, during the premiere of “Raja Harishchandra” at the Coronation Cinema in Bombay, as scenes of the king and his family’s struggles unfolded, the audience stood up in their seats. Many removed their shoes and bowed before the screen. Films like “Mohini Bhasmasur” and “Lanka Dahan” propelled him to success. During “Lanka Dahan” (1917), when Lord Ram appeared on screen, the hall erupted with chants of “Jai Shri Ram.” Phalke was no longer just a filmmaker; he had become a magician, bringing Indian mythology to life.
However, time has a way of changing everything. In 1931, Ardeshir Irani produced India’s first talking film, “Alam Ara.” Suddenly, theaters were filled with sound, breaking the magical silence of Silent Films. Phalke, a master of visual language and special effects, struggled to adapt to this new “noise.” His films, rich in emotion but lacking dialogue, began to feel outdated. His only talkie, “Gangavataran,” was a dismal failure.
In his later years, Dadasaheb Phalke returned to Nashik. He faced illness and financial hardship. While film studios in Bombay were raking in millions and stars shone brightly, the man who had given rise to these stars faded into obscurity.
It is said that in his final days, he wrote a letter to his son, revealing his helplessness. He passed away on February 16, 1944, at the age of 73. The Dadasaheb Phalke Award was established by the Government of India in 1969 to honor the father of Indian cinema on the occasion of his 100th birth anniversary.