"Raja Harischandra" By Dadasaheb Phalke

"Raja Harischandra" By Dadasaheb Phalke:

The Government of India recognises Raja Harischandra as the first Indian feature film. Directed and produced by Dadasaheb Phalke, the "father of Indian Cinema", this 40-minute-long silent film is the very first full-length Indian feature — the beginning of Bollywood. The narrative of the film is based on the eponymous legend recounted in the Sanskrit epics Ramayana and Mahabharata. The story centres around the hero Harishchandra, a noble king, who, to honour his promise to the sage Vishwamitra, sacrifices his kingdom, his wife, and eventually also his children.

By the end, however, having pleased the Gods with his actions, Harishchandra's former glory is restored. Raja Harishchandra features Dattatraya Damodar Dabke, Anna Salunke, Bhalchandra Phalke, and Gajanan Vasudev Sane. The film premiered at the Olympia Theatre, Bombay, on 21 April 1913, and had its theatrical release on 3 May 1913 at the Coronation Cinematograph and Variety Hall, Girgaon. Some film historians believe these belong to a 1917 remake of the film by Phalke titled Satyavadi Raja Harishchandra. But it has been declared as the first full-length Indian feature film.