Dadasaheb Phalke, the man who gifted India its first full length feature film.

Indian movie industry is now one of the biggest movie industries in the world, with more than 1000 movie release in over 20 languages each year. But it all started with a dream of a simple man, Dhundiraj Govind Phalke aka Dadasaheb Phalke. He left his printing press business to fulfill his dream; a dream to make Cinema in India. Dadasaheb Phalke, an Indian producer-director-screenwriter, made his first film 'Raja Harishchandra' in 1913 and it is known as the first full length feature film in India. Here are some interesting facts about him.

1. Dadasaheb learnt sketching, painting, lithography, architecture, photography and sculpting at the Sir JJ School of Art, Bombay. He even went to Germany to learn the latest technologies of that time. He also worked with the renowned Indian painter Raja Ravi Varma.
2. Before filmmaking, Phalke did several jobs. First, he started working as a photographer in Godhra, then as a draftsman at the Archaeological Survey of India, and then started his printing press business. He also used to practice magic and had knowledge about special effects.
3. Phalke briefly worked at the lithography press of Raja Ravi Varma. He was highly influenced by Varma's paintings of the Hindu Gods and this influence was seen in the movies he made later.
4. In 1911, Phalke watched a silent film 'The Life of Christ' in a tent theatre. He felt so mesmerized and fascinated about this new art that he immediately made up his mind to make cinema in India.
5. Phalke went to London in 1912 and learnt everything about filmmaking from the British filmmaker Cecil Hepworth. Then he came back to his native land and started making his first venture, 'Raja Harishchandra' in 1913.
6. Phalke spent around 15 thousand rupees to make 'Raja Harishchandra'. While he himself built the whole set of the film and operated camera, his wife Saraswati designed the costumes of the characters and helped in the production. His son Bhalchandra Phalke played a role in the film.
7. 'Raja Harishchandra' became a huge success. Then Phalke went on to make more movies like 'Mohini Bhasmasur', 'Lanka Dahan', 'Setu Bandhan', 'Satyavan Savitri' etc. In a career span of 19 years, he made 19 full length feature films and 27 short films.
8. His great-grand niece Sharayu Phalke Summanwar wrote a biography of Dadasaheb, named 'The Silent film'. Also there's a Marathi film 'Harishchandrachi Factory' (2009) which depicts his journey towards making his first film.
9. In his honour, Government of India gives Dadasaheb Phalke award to renowned film personalities for their lifetime contribution in Indian cinema.

Dadasaheb Phalke is an iconic figure and his contribution to Indian cinema is unforgettable.