In 1914, Dhundiraj Govind Phalke, widely known as Dadasaheb Phalke, declined an offer to make films in London. "I have to keep making films in my country so that it gets established as an industry at home," said the man who gave India its first full-length feature film Raja Harishchandra. Nearly 95 years have elapsed since then and the Indian film industry has become the biggest in the world, but the father of Indian cinema continues to inspire and contribute to the industry. The latest instance of this is Harishchandrachi Factory.
This Marathi language film about how Phalke made his first film has been nominated as India's official entry to this year's Oscars in the Foreign Film Category. It's the second Marathi film after Shwas (2004) to bag this honour. Its selection was announced by the Film Federation of India (FFI) and the jury was headed by veteran actress Asha Parekh.
"The inspiration for the film came from Dadasaheb Phalke. His adventure of filmmaking is the basis of the film," says Paresh Mokashi, director and writer of the film. Harishchandrachi Factory - which faced competition from 15 recent Indian films including New York and Delhi 6 - captures the first two years of Phalke's cinematic career. The two-hour-long film starts with Phalke giving up his printing business after a fight with his partner. Soon, he accidentally comes across a tent theatre, screening a silent film. An awestruck Phalke decided to make a film and was encouraged by his wife and two enthusiastic children. The Oscar-nominated film ends with Phalke delivering Indian film industry's first hit using his advertising acumen.
Mokashi started working on the film in 2005. The script was ready after three months of research on Phalke's life. "After that started the magical hunt for money to make the film. I didn't want to make a low-budget film and make absolutely no comprises in creating this period drama," he says.
