Chapter 2: Dadasaheb Phalke

When we think of cinema, the first thing that comes to our mind is about our favourite actor or actress. Ideally it should have been Dhundiraj Govind Phalke or Dadasaheb Phalke as he is called. He is considered as the father of Indian Cinema.
Dadasaheb was born on 30th April 1870 at Trambakeshwar in Maharashtra. Art was in the blood of Phalke and he joined J J School of Arts in 1885. Due to his passion for art and acting he joined Kala Bhavan in Baroda (now known as Vadodra) in the year 1890. At Kala Bhavan, he mastered sculpting, drawing, painting, photography & also engineering. After passing out he worked as a photographer in Godhra.
Tragedy struck him when he lost his wife & children in a plague epidemic. A year later he met a German magician, Carl Hertz. Carl was an employee of Lumiere Brothers. Lumiere Brothers were the first to introduce movies in Europe. With Carl’s company, Phalke developed interest in cinema and photography. He worked for the Archaeological Survey of India for a few months and then joined a printing press. A few months he started his own printing press.
Dadasaheb had fascination for the newest technology. This fascination encouraged him to take a trip to Germany to learn about the new technology in printing and art. The trip to Germany had changed Phalke’s perspective towards art.
After his return, he ran into problems with the partners of his printing press. He happened to watch a silent movie at a local fair and got inspired by it. Soon he parted ways with the printing press partners and decided to make a film. Phalke had poor finances and the dream of film was going far day by day. But his passion for it kept him going.
At this crucial time, Saraswati, Dadasheb’s second wife made a very tough decision. She decided to sell her ornaments to get money for the movie. Soon the cash started