Dada Saheb Phalke's struggle paved the way for the film industry to reach the global level

Dadasaheb Phalke, considered the founder of Indian cinema, whose full name was Dhundiraj Govind Phalke, was born on April 30, 1870, in Nashik, Maharashtra. By profession, Phalke was a filmmaker, director, screenwriter, and producer. In 1913, Phalke made India's first full-length feature film "Raja Harishchandra," which was a silent film. He handled most of the work, including direction, script, camera work, editing, and production, himself. He introduced mythological and historical themes to the cinematic screen. Phalke laid the foundation of filmmaking at a time when the concept was new. Therefore, he is respectfully called the "Father of Indian Cinema." The Indian government initiated the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in recognition of his services, which is considered the highest honor in Indian cinema.

Phalke began his film journey in 1910 after watching the film "The Life of Christ" in London and became inclined towards filmmaking. At that time, there was no formal structure for filmmaking in India. Despite all opposition and financial difficulties, he decided to make a film. He laid the foundation of filmmaking when technology, capital, and social acceptance were all scarce. Most of his films were based on Hindu mythological, religious, and historical themes. His struggle paved the way for the Indian film industry to reach the global level. He introduced special effects in his films and handled editing and processing himself. Dadasaheb Phalke was not just a filmmaker but a trendsetter who laid the foundation of cinema in India. Today, the success of the Indian film industry is the result of his hard work and vision.

In 1910, during the screening of the film "The Life of Christ" in Mumbai, there was a person among the audience who had found his life's purpose. Within two months, he watched all the films being screened in the city and decided that he would also make films. This person was none other than Dadasaheb Phalke, the creator of Indian cinema. Phalke's father, Daji Shastri Phalke, was a scholar of Sanskrit. After some time, his family moved to Mumbai in search of a better life. Dadasaheb Phalke was inclined towards art since childhood and wanted to make a career in this field. In 1885, he joined the J.J. College of Art. He received art education at the famous Kala Bhavan in Baroda. Later, he started working as a painter in a drama company. In 1903, he began working as a photographer in the Department of Archaeology. After some time, Phalke's interest in photography waned, and he decided to pursue a career as a filmmaker. To fulfill this dream, he went to London in 1912, borrowing money from a friend. He spent almost two weeks in London learning the intricacies of filmmaking and bought equipment related to filmmaking before returning to Mumbai.

After returning to Mumbai, Phalke established the Phalke Film Company and decided to make a film called "Raja Harishchandra" under its banner. He started searching for a financier and met Yashwant Nadkarni, a dealer in photography equipment, who was impressed by Phalke and agreed to finance his film. Phalke faced many difficulties during the film's production. He wanted a woman to play the role of the actress, but at that time, it was considered taboo for women to work in films. He even visited the red-light area in search of an actress but found no woman willing to work in the film. Eventually, his search ended with a man named Salunke who worked as a cook in a restaurant.

Dadasaheb Phalke wanted to give Indian audiences something new through his film. He did not want to leave any stone unturned in making the film. Therefore, apart from directing the film, he took on the responsibilities of writing, cinematography, editing, and photography himself. He even handled the distribution of the film. Phalke's wife helped him a lot during the film's production. She cooked food for almost 500 people working on the film and washed their clothes. The film cost around 15,000 rupees, which was a significant amount at that time. Finally, the day arrived when the film was to be released. The film was first screened on May 3, 1913, at the Coronation Cinema Hall in Mumbai. The 40-minute film received an overwhelming response from the audience and proved to be a super hit at the box office.

After the huge success of "Raja Harishchandra," Dadasaheb Phalke came to Nashik and started working on his next film, "Mohini Bhasmasur." The film took around three months to complete. "Mohini Bhasmasur" holds significant importance in the history of the film industry as it marked the debut of actresses like Durga Gokhale and Kamla Gokhale in Indian cinema. The film was approximately 3,245 feet long, and Phalke used trick photography for the first time. Phalke's next film, "Savitri Satyavan," was released in 1914. After the success of "Savitri Satyavan," Phalke's fame spread across the country, and audiences began to wait for his films. He wanted to showcase his films to every audience in India, so he decided to make around 20 prints of his film to reach a wider audience.

In 1914, Dadasaheb Phalke got another opportunity to visit London. He received many offers to work on film production in London, but Phalke declined them, saying he was an Indian and would make films in India. Later, he directed successful religious films like "Shri Krishna Janma" in 1918 and "Kaliya Mardan" in 1919. These films were highly appreciated by the audience, who would become immersed in devotion while watching them. During the screening of "Lanka Dahan," when Lord Rama appeared on the screen, and during the screening of "Kaliya Mardan," when Lord Krishna appeared, the audience would bow down to them.

In 1917, Phalke's company merged with Hindustan Films Company. After this, Dadasaheb Phalke returned to Nashik and established a studio. Apart from the film studio, he built a building for his technical experts and artists to live together like a joint family. In the 1920s, the audience's interest shifted from religious films to action films, which deeply affected Phalke. Eventually, seeing the dominance of commercialism in films, he retired from the film industry in 1928. However, he attempted to make a comeback in the film industry with the 1931 film "Setubandhan," but it failed at the box office.

In 1970, on the occasion of Dadasaheb Phalke's centenary birthday, the Indian government established the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the field of cinema. Actress Devika Rani became the first recipient of this highest honor in the film world. Dadasaheb Phalke directed around 100 films during his three-decade-long film career. The 1937 film "Gangavataran" proved to be the last film of Phalke's career. The film failed at the box office, which deeply disappointed him, and he bid farewell to filmmaking forever. The great filmmaker Dadasaheb Phalke, who mesmerized audiences with his films for almost three decades, passed away on February 16, 1944, in Nashik, in extreme silence.