Posts tagged universal appeal

Very little is known about Dadasaheb Phalke, the father of Indian cinema who made the first desi motion picture. His life, the struggles and huge obstacles he had to face while making the first film is an interesting account to be captured on celluloid. Yet, in all these years, no Bollywood director ever touched it (and then they complained that they rarely come across good scripts!). Finally, Paresh Mokashi took up the challenge and has come with a Marathi film, Harishchandrachi Factory. The result is extraordinary-the film has turned out to be sweet, simple and extremely hilarious! It not only provides you with a slice of history but also complete and wholesome entertainment!

The story of the movie: The film begins in 1911. Dhundiraj Phalke (Nandu Madhav) gets separated from his business partner with whom he was running a printing business. As his family was struggling to make ends meet, he comes across a tent theatre that was screening a Western silent motion picture. This was a time when movies were patronized only by the Westerners and Indians rarely flocked to see it. However, Phalke was fascinated by what he saw and he called it ‘drama on screen’. He decided to learn the art of filmmaking and then himself make a film. His friends and well-wishers are outraged by Phalke’s new endaevour but his wife Saraswati (Vibhavari Deshpande) supports him and doesn’t cringe when Phalke started selling household articles to raise money. He even goes to London More >