Raja Harishchandra (1913)

The film opens with a Ravi Varma like tableau showing King Harishchandra, his wife Taramati and his young son. The king is teaching his son archery. They go on a hunt. The king enters an ... See full summary »

Director:

Dhundiraj Govind Phalke

Writers:

Dhundiraj Govind Phalke, Ranchhodbai Udayram (story)

Stars:

D.D. Dabke, P.G. Sane, Bhalachandra D. Phalke

Cast

Cast overview:
D.D. Dabke	...	Raja Harishchandra
P.G. Sane	...	Taramati
Bhalachandra D. Phalke	...	Rohitas
G.V. Sane	...	Vishwamitra
Dattatreya Kshirsagar
Dattatreya Telang
Ganpat G. Shinde
Vishnu Hari Aundhkar
Anna Salunke
Nath T. Telang

Storyline

The film opens with a Ravi Varma like tableau showing King Harishchandra, his wife Taramati and his young son. The king is teaching his son archery. They go on a hunt. The king enters an area controlled by the Sage Vishwamitra. Three furies appear before the king caught in flames. The king tries to rescue them. These fairies try to seduce the king into renouncing his kingdom for his love of truth. The king endures much hardship including being banished from his kingdom before a god appears to reassure everyone that the whole narrative was merely a test of the king's integrity.

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Genres:

Short

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Details

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi

Release Date:

3 May 1913 (India)

Also Known As:

Harischandra

Company Credits

Production Co:

Phalke Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

40 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

It was considered indecent for a woman to act in a movie. After searching high and low, Phalke finally cast a male, an actor known only as Salunke, to play the part of Rani Taramati.

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Connections

Featured in The Story of Film: An Odyssey: Episode #1.6 (2011)

User Reviews

Its the first movie from India.

Only bits and pieces of this movie are available. I have seen those, its silent, its shaky, its like any other good movie that would come from 1913.

Most of the roles are played by Dadabhai Phalke (Harischandra and his wife) because he could not get any woman to act in front of camera and pretend to be his wife.

But this movie is historical. It is the first movie from India. From this movie Indian film industry graduated to making the most number of movies in the world and being biggest film exporter.

An award has been named after him, Dadabhai Phalke award. which is of same status in India as is Oscar in USA.