Dhundiraj Govind Phalke or Dadasaheb Phalke (1870-1944) is known as the ‘Father of Indian Cinema’. He is the artist, the man who introduced the world of motion pictures to the Indian audiences. Born in present-day Maharashtra, Phalke always had a curiosity to explore the creative arts, which motivated him to pursue diverse interests such as photography, lithography, painting, theatrical set designing, and even magic!

However, the turning point in his life was yet to come. After watching the silent film ‘The Life of Christ’ (originally produced by France’s Pathé film company) in the year 1910, Dadasaheb Phalke made it his life-mission to introduce the art of filmmaking in India. In a time when women going beyond the four walls of their houses was unimaginable, Dadasaheb Phalke’s wife Saraswatibai Phalke helped her husband manage his filmmaking business. 

He went to London to learn the essentials of filmmaking. A year later, he made India’s first indigenous full-length feature film called ‘Raja Harishchandra’ that was released on 3rd May 1913. This marked the beginning of a new era in India, the ‘Phalke Era’, and the birth of Indian cinema. ‘Raja Harishchandra’, a film based on a popular Hindu mythological story, became hugely successful, and proved to be an important milestone in India’s cultural history. Phalke also introduced the first female artist of Indian cinema in his next film ‘Bhasmasur Mohini’, released in the same year. 

Dadasaheb Phalke went on to establish his own film production company, and produced as many as 95 feature films and 27 short films in a career spanning 19 years. He employed innovative filmmaking techniques, and is credited with using trick photography and special effects as early as in the 1920s. Indeed, Dadasaheb Phalke’s contribution to Indian Cinema remains unparalleled.