Person · pioneer filmmaker · India
Dadasaheb Phalke
/d̪aːd̪aːsaːɦeb pʰaːɭke/
Dhundiraj Govind Phalke (1870–1944), known as Dadasaheb Phalke, was a Marathi filmmaker from Trimbak, near Nashik. Trained as a photographer, printer, and lithographer, he moved into film after seeing The Life of Christ in Bombay in 1910, and taught himself the craft during trips to London.
- Date
- 1870 - 1944
- Periods
- British Colonial Age
- Function
- Arts & performance
- Confidence
- Not assessed
Worth knowing
Phalke directed Raja Harishchandra (1913), the first full-length Indian feature film, and went on to make dozens of mythological features and shorts, establishing the mythological as the founding genre of Indian cinema. India's highest film honour, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, instituted in 1969, is named for him.
Connections (1)
- BirthplaceNāsik / Panchavatī
Dadasaheb Phalke was born at Trimbak near Nashik in 1870 and made Raja Harishchandra in 1913, the first full-length Indian feature, after seeing a Life of Christ in Bombay and deciding Indian gods should appear on screen too. He trained as a photographer and printer and learned lithography under Ravi Varma's press. India's highest film honour carries his name, and the industry he started began with mythological subjects for exactly that reason.
Sources
Wikipedia, “Dadasaheb Phalke”. The subject’s own writings where they survive, and the standard biographical literature.
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