Phalke's kin unveil website on his death anniversary

Mumbai: In a unique initiative, the descendants of the Father of Indian Cinema, Dhundiraj Govind Phalke – revered as ‘Dadasaheb Phalke’ – dedicated a first official website in his memory on his 81st death anniversary, on Sunday.

The heirs of the Phalke clan unveiled the website, ‘Dadasaheb Phalke International Awareness Mission’ (www.dpiam.org.in) at a function in Dadasaheb Phalke Chitranagari on Sunday, an excited grandson Chandrashekhar Pusalkar-Phalke and his wife Mrudula told The Perfect Voice.

Born in Trimbakeshwar (Nashik), Dadasaheb Phalke (April 30, 1870-Feb. 16, 1944) – his original surname of ‘Bhat’ – was educated in Mumbai and Baroda (now, in Gujarat).

A humble, unpretentious and multi-faceted personality, he went down in Indian history as the producer-director of the first feature film, “Raja Harishchandra” (released May 3, 1913), made after great personal sacrifices.

Interestingly his ancestors, the Bhats, were engaged in supplying cut banana leaves to the Peshwas, and the vocation was traditionally known as ‘Phalke’, hence that occupational surname stuck, and later became historical.

As the country, then under colonial rule, remained in awe of the maiden silent film, Dadasaheb Phalke made two more films, “Mohini Bhasmasur” (1913) and “Satyavan Savitri” (1914). He shot into limelight with the first-ever blockbuster hit film of India, “Lanka Dahan” (1917), in which he also introduced the fascinating concept of a ‘double-role character’.

The Pusalkars said that their grandpa unfailingly credited his doting wife, Saraswati Phalke for his success in film-making - that has now mushroomed into a gigantic entertainment industry that ranks among the biggest money-spinners for the national economy.

“He made 75 films, of which only one was a talkie, ‘Gangavataran’ in 1937. Many of his films were very popular, and he was a visionary, a trendsetter in several aspects of film-making which inspired future generations,” said the Pusalkar couple.

Explaining the objectives behind the website, Pusalkar said that in the past so many years, Dadasaheb Phalke’s name has been grossly misused and even exploited for pecuniary gains through fly-by-night operators all over India.

“Such elements brazenly organize functions, mega-events, dole out awards in his name claiming them as ‘genuine’, collect funds, etc. which has occasionally landed the Phalke family into trouble. So, we decided to do something about it, starting with this dedicated website,” Pusalkar said.

Henceforth, the Pusalkars declared that “any and all functions anywhere in India or the world using Dadasaheb Phalke’s name unauthorizedly would attract legal action”, unless they secure the prior written permission from the Phalke Family.

However, the Government of India’s prestigious ‘Dadasaheb Phalke Award’ (under the National Film Awards) instituted in 1969 for the country’s top film personalities will not come under the DPIAM’s purview, they assured.

“My grandfather-in-law was reduced to a mere ‘product’ and all these unscrupulous elements ‘sold’ him in their dubious ‘dukaans’ to reap huge profits. We are hopeful that all this will now stop as even the ordinary masses become aware of such racketeering,” gushed Mrudula.

The website provides many unknown gems from Dadasaheb Phalke’s life and times, how he was inclined to the fine arts from a very tender age.

He acquired a degree from the Sir J. J. School of Arts (founded 1857) in Mumbai, followed by the Advanced Fine Arts Training from Kala Bhavan (founded 1890) in Baroda, before confidently stepping into the mysterious world of entertainment.

Describing him as “an accidental film-maker”, Pusalkar said his granddad was equally proficient in other fields like drawing, painting, photography, model-making, theatre, printing and had mastered the art of magic from the American wizard, Carl Hertz (1859-1924), but it was films that made him an icon.

The family has been appealing to confer India’s top civilian award ‘Bharat Ratna’ on Dadasaheb Phalke.