Picture this: Christmas Eve 1910, Bombay’s America-India Picture Palace packed to capacity. ‘The Life of Christ’ mesmerized viewers, but for one man in the audience, it was a revelation. Dhundiraj Phalke, 40, saw beyond the screen—imagining Indian epics brought to life. ‘If they can show Jesus walking, our gods must too,’ he thought.
That epiphany birthed Indian cinema. Phalke, born April 30, 1870, in Nashik’s Tryambakeshwar to a scholarly Brahmin family, had a unconventional path. Photography and magic lanterns captivated him early. Announcing his intent to make motion pictures, he faced ridicule—cinema was ‘firangi trickery.’
Phalke countered with ingenuity: sowing peas in a pot, capturing hourly growth over 30 days. Speeding the reel revealed a sprouting miracle—India’s pioneering time-lapse, convincing skeptics that film was no sorcery but science.
The real battle was acquiring tools. Raw materials meant a trip to England. Phalke’s wife, Saraswatibai, sacrificed her gold ornaments for the cause. In 1912, armed with her faith, he bought the Williamson camera, importing not just gear but India’s cinematic dawn.
Crafting ‘Raja Harishchandra’ tested limits. Mythic tale ready, but casting the queen? Orthodox norms barred women. Brothel visits yielded no takers. Salvation came via Anna Salunke, a lithe tea shop cook. Sari-clad, he played the lead female—cinema’s first cross-dressing star.
Dadar’s Phalke residence became a hive of activity. Saraswatibai juggled feeding dozens, processing film in hazardous chemicals, and aiding shoots—truly, the unsung pioneer technician.
Premiering May 3, 1913, at Coronation Cinema, the film evoked reverence; viewers prostrated before projected royalty. Success snowballed with ‘Mohini Bhasmasur’ and ‘Lanka Dahan,’ theaters alive with devotional fervor.
Talkies disrupted in 1931 with ‘Alam Ara.’ Phalke’s silent artistry, rich in expressions and effects, faded against sound’s clamor. ‘Gangavataran’ bombed, marking his exit.
Forgotten in Nashik, impoverished and ailing, Phalke died February 16, 1944. His centenary in 1969 saw the Dadasaheb Phalke Award instituted, a tribute to the man who lit India’s silver screen.