Film Festival - Class IX

A Dark Hall
Rows and Rows of seats
Thousands of people
One Screen which enthralls them all – The Cinema

This is the magic of cinema, which was brought to India by Mr. Dhundiraj Govind Phalke, affectionately called, Dadasaheb Phalke.
This is the story of how he made the first film of India, which started the Indian Film Industry, which today employs over lakhs of people, generates crores of revenue, gives birth to stars like Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Kajol, Madhuri Dixit, earns recognition for the country and most importantly reaches out to thousands and thousands of human beings all over the globe to fascinate them with the Magic of Cinema…..
Today, this feature film which tells the Story of How the First Feature Film of India was made, is India’s official entry to the Oscars this year.

Harishchandrachi Factory (Harishchandra Factory)
Director : Paresh Mokashi Year : 2009 Duration : 96 min
Country : India Language : Marathi Subtitles : Yes
• Synopsis
Year 1911. British rule in India. Leader of the Indian Freedom struggle Lokmanya Tilak was in Mandalay prison. Gandhi, Nehru and Ambedkar were yet to arrive in the Indian Political scenario. Things were at a nascent stage.
A simple man, deeply passionate about art and a student of the J.J. School of Art, was working with the Archeological Survey of India.
In 1905-1906, he like many other illustrious Indians gave up his government job, in protest of the Bengal Partition. Unemployed, he started a Printing Business, which he abandoned after a quarrel with his partner. He did not ask for any compensation; on the contrary, he gave his word to the worried partner that he would never enter into printing again and would never compete with him! As a result, Phalke was unemployed and struggling to survive. One day he accidentally came across a tent theatre that was screening silent motion pictures, an absolutely new concept, which no one knew existed. The idea struck him. He decided to make films himself.
With a hardworking wife and two enthusiastic kids by his side, he ventured into a field unknown to contemporary India. The making of India's first feature film, 'Raja Harishchandra', was an amazing adventure. Funny, crazy and grave situations- Phalke family overcame everything. With the help of their cast and crew, not only did they deliver the first Indian film, but also made sure that it became the first super hit film!
• Note on The Director :
Paresh Mokashi has been associated with theatre for the last twenty years. He started as an actor in the well known theatre organization, Theatre Academy, Pune. He was part of main stream Marathi drama as well as Grips theatre, (Berlin) & Theatre Academy coproductions
for children. Then he shifted to writing-directing and received good reviews from critics and tasted wide commercial success. Sangeet Debuchya Muli, Mukkam Post Bombilwadi and Lagnakallol are a few of his plays which are known for experimentations in vivid yet atypical humour. Apart from show business he is involved in objective research on ancient scriptures like
the Vedas, Ramayan and Mahabharat. 'Harishchandrachi Factory' is his debut film.
• Statement from Osian’s-Cinefan
Sometimes history appears right in front of you and you simply cannot ignore it. Harishchandrachi Factory is one such instance. A film, in fact the first film to narrate the story of how the first film of India, Raja Harishchandra, was made in 1913. Raja Harishchandra was
to be the beginning of the world’s largest film industry, churning out over 800 films a year.
So historical was the film – Harishchandrachi Factory – that it had to be the centerpiece of an Outreach Programme which seeks to involve children with cinema. What makes the film delightful is that it portrays the birth of cinema in the most simple, humourous and
enjoyable manner – so that the millions whom cinema has enchanted over the years are fascinated by the story of its birth too.
Harishchandrachi Factory is a tribute to the first feature Film maker of India – Dadasaheb Phalke. An interesting anecdote to mention here is that in the year 1914, after he had made three films, Dadasaheb Phalke had a special screening of his films in London. Following
this he received offers to make films and stay in London. But he refused all of them saying, “I must keep making films in India so that it gets established as an industry at home”. And the rest, as they say, is history…
FILM BRIEFING SESSION
The Wonder of Imagination
Imagine…
Dreams…
Think…
These are the emotions that propel man to go beyond himself. Every discovery, every invention, was a product of imagination & necessity. Without imagination man’s life would have been lifeless. The mind constantly imagines, is constantly lost in thought…
This imagination made man love stories – of Gods, Goddesses and Demons and People, of Places far and wide, of love, belief horror and magic. Stories which made man happy and sad; which inspired and empathized. Through stories man entered a world where his mind was engaged with thoughts – which inspired him to explore life further. This fascination for stories led to dance, drama, music, writing, poetry and ultimately to CINEMA
Today, all of us can make films – technology has made this possible. But what is cinema?
Cinema is the science of making still pictures move so that they appear to be in movement. How does this happen? This happens, because as the Roman poet Lucretius explained in 65 B.C., the human eye retains the image of every objects it sees for 1/25th of a second after it moves away also. That means, if you see a pen and if is moved away, you will still see it in front of you for 1/25th of a second. This helps create an illusion of motion in our vision while seeing things, which is the scientific principle of cinema.
So, is Cinema all Science?
No while the principle of cinema is scientific, the concept of cinema, which is storytelling is artistic. Thus cinema is a brilliant symbiosis of science and art where science has been utilized to its optimum to express artistic creativity.
Think of how cinema has mesmerized audiences all over the world. But, do we know that story? Harishchandrachi Factory is the very story of how the first film of India was made. Very simple, without jargon, it is at one level, the story of the struggle of a human mind to explore imagination and use it to bring joy and awe to thousands. At one level, that is what cinema is all about
The film, among other issues, also touches upon the subject of patriotism and duty to the nation. Often this is credited only to industrialists, national leaders and the defense forces. But Phalke demonstrated his own patriotism, much like what a common man can do. In 1906 he gave up his lucrative government job in protest of the Bengal partition of 1905. Later in 1914, after he made his first three films, he turned down an offer to stay and make films in England because as he said, “I must keep making films in India so that it gets established as an industry at home”.
So the next time you go to watch a film, do think of the man whose vision brought cinema to India – Dadasaheb Phalke.