Will the sons of India ever see Indian Scenes

on the screen

Dadasaheb Phalke himself wrote, I Happened to watch

the Life of Christ in the picture place called America
India in Mumbai in 1910. I must have seen movies a
number of times earlier, must have often gone their for
recreation with friends or family. It marks a watershed in
my life!

While watching the Life of Christ, I had a strange feeling ins

What it was, is difficult to describe, but it is certain that

while the life of Christ was moving fast before my eyes, I
was seeing in those places Bhagwan ShriKrishna in his
Gokul, Bhagwan Shri Ram in his Ayodhya

I began to see these things on the screen

itself.

Will this illusion become a reality?

Will the sons of India ever see Indian Scenes on the scre

The next two month. it was axiomatic that no matter how

powerful my enthusiasm, how strong my conviction about
success, no financier would take a risk to go ahead unless
he was actually shown something concrete.

So I needed a small sum for making a trip to Europe

and buying the
necessary equipments

With imported equipment i trained myself in all

branches of film making

Dadasaheb went to Europe and bought from an

English
company a toy cinema.

and some reels of Films

I started showing movies at night by forcing candle

light
on a lens and projecting the picture on a wall.

Determination to make Swadeshi pictures, Phalke imports

equipments
from England and, acting like a one-man unit, produces his
first Indian Picture.

Raja HarishChandra

And then, the eternal problem of Feminine Modesty!

The film Camera was the public eye.

No women would act before the Film camera

But I was determined to go ahead and make my first

Film

So i cast male actors in the female role.

His film unfolded a world of gods, Demons and

legendary beings,
miraculous and fantastic, but very real to the
popular Hindu religious
imagination.

And finally the pioneer of Indian Cinema set forward the

reels in motion

The father of Indian Cinema

Dadasaheb Phalke

A tribute to Dadasaheb Phalke

By
Deepa Chordia
IDC, IIT Bombay
Guided By
Mr. Kamal Swaroop
Prof. Shilpa Ranade