Dada Sahib Phalke was the Father of India Cinema

              Dada Sahib Phalke was the Father of India Cinema 

During the screening of the film ' The Life of Christ' in Mumbai in 1910, there was a man in the audience who found the purpose of his life after watching the film. He saw all the films screened in the city in about two months. He decided that he would make a film. That person.  None other than Dada Sahib Phalke, the father of Indian cinema. Dada Sahib Phalke's real name was Dhundhiraj Govind Phalke. He was born on 30 April 1870 in Triyambakeshwar, near Nashik in Maharashtra. His father Daji Shastri Phalke was a sanskrit Scholar. After some time, his family came to Mumbai in search of a better life. In 1885, he entered the J.J college of Art. To fulfill his dream of becoming a filmmaker, he moved to London in 1912 with a friend's money. After learning the intricacies of London filmmaker for about two weeks, he came to Mumbai to buy filmmaker equipment. 

After coming to Mumbai, Dada Sahib set up the Phalke film company and decided to make a film under his banner called ' Raja Harishchandra'. Meanwhile, he met Yashwant Nadkarni, a photography equipment dealer. He accepted to be the financier of his film. Dada sahib Phalke wanted a woman to play the role of an actress in a film, but in those days it was considered a bad thing for women to act in films. His search was later completed by visiting salunke, a chef in a restaurant. A part from directing in the film, all of his writing, cinematography, editing and painting. He took responsibility. He even did the distribution of the film himself. Dada Sahib wife helped him a lot during the making of the film. During this time she cooked and washed the clothes of about 500 people working in the film. The film cost around Rs. 15000 which was a huge amount in those day. Finally, the day came when the film was to be released. The film was first screened at Mumbai's Cornish Cinema on May 3, 1913. The film, which lasted for about 40 minutes, received overwhelming support from the audience. " The Movie proved to be a super hit at the box office". After this Dada Sahib Phalke directed successful religious films like ' Mohini Bhasmasur', ' Sstyawan Swithri', 'Lanka Dahin', ' Sri Krishna Janam and Kalia Mardan'. 

                                                                  

In the 1920s, the audience shifted from religious films to action films. This came as a great shock to Dada Sahib Phalke. Seeing the domiance of film business, he finally retired from the film industry in 1928. On Occasion of the centenary of Dada Sahib Phalke's birth in 1970, the government of India launched the ' Dada Sahib Phalke Award' in his name in recognition of his remarkable contribution in the field of film. Film actress and Host Devika Rani was the first actress to receive this highest honor in the film world. Dada sahib Phalke directed about 100 films in his three decades long, cine career. Released in 1937, ' Gangavataram' proved to be the last film of Dada Sahib Phalke's cinematic career. The great filmmaker Dada sahib, who enchanted the audience with his films for almost three decades, passed away in silence on February 16, 1944 in Nashik. The highest award in the world of cinema was given in 2015 to Manoj Kumar. Earlier, Shashi Kapoor was honored with the award for the year 2014.

' The Dada sahib Phalke' award is given by the Government of India to those who have made outstanding contributions to the development of Indian cinema. Under this golden lotus, a shawl and Rs. 10 lakhs are provided. This honor is conferred on the recommendation of a committee of eminent persons constituted by the Government.