Harishchandrachi Factory — The story of Indian cinema
Cinema is probably the most important art form of the twentieth century and a huge influence on society today. It influences the way we live, speak, act and perceive life around us. As an art form closest to representing ‘reality’; cinema affects us all! Now This art form definitely has a western origin but it is a deeply inseparable form of Indian social and cultural ethos. But how did it all start in India?
Imagine a young storyteller dreaming of freedom for his colonized nation. He gets this amazing tool of cinema to dazzle people with his stories while also creating a national identity and sense of pride. He then becomes the first person in the country to make a feature film, in spite of all the social and financial hurdles. How exciting will this journey be! This journey is what a supremely tasteful Marathi film “Harishchandrachi Factory” shows the audience.
Directed by debutante Paresh Mokashi, this 2013 Oscar entry from India is a tale of passion and persistence. This beautifully vibrant biopic depicts an arduous journey of Dadasaheb Phalke as he brings the Williamson camera to India to shoot Raja Harishchandra, an epic film that has since become a movie milestone. Portraying the toil, sweat, and tears behind this groundbreaking task do not make it a boring film, due to its lightheartedness and crackling wit.
The film opens with our protagonist, Dadasaheb Phalke, performing a magic show with his young son before a small audience near their chawl in Bombay. Soon he himself is seen immersed in the magic of cinema as he sees a silent film accompanied by a live orchestra. This magic of moving images fills him with a singular objective of learning this craft and bringing it to the native audiences. Before long he leaves his job, sells off a majority of his belongings and against the societal stigma of crossing the sea, is on his way to London to learn the craft of creating a film.
The second act of the film shows the behind-the-scenes story of how his first feature film was made and it is extremely riveting to watch. In one hilarious segment, he tries to convince his wife to work as an actress in his film, much to her dismay then roams around brothels to find a lady for the job, when she refuses. Finally, he starts the film with an all-male cast including the leading lady part donned by a man but he refuses to shave off his moustache! Battling social stigma, heavy equipment, working in broad daylight, harsh stage lights, with depleting personal finances and his family,’s faith in him; Dadasaheb finally finishes this groundbreaking first “Indian” film.
This simple film-making within a film story is handled by Mokashi with a delightfully humorous way. There are many nods to the cinema of the lore. In fact, one particular scene depicting how Phalke sells everything in house to raise money contains speed-up jump cuts heightened by fun music reminiscent of silent comedies. Nandu Madhav who portrays Phalke uses wide-eyed innocence and a lot of gestures of Chaplin to bring his character to life. As an eccentric visionary full of naivety and confidence, Nandu Madhav brings the much-needed ease and zest to his character. Vibhawari Deshpande as Phalke’s wife and singular support through hardships holds her own and is supremely efficient. The two young actors playing their sons are natural while the other actors put inadequate support. The struggles of his family, as he has left his job, the fascination of his wife and two kids about the camera, the rigorous location hunting — actors perform all these scenes in an impish, slightly exaggerated light-hearted manner. The film which would have been a drab documentary, become far more entertaining because of it.
The production design accurately recreates pre-independence Bombay, London, and then rural areas around Bombay. Costumes harken back this era and music enhanced by mannerisms and language used in dialogues invokes the nostalgic time. This film is a treasure trove for trivia buffs and connoisseurs of early cinema and is replete with factoids sprinkled on-screen and the credit is to the screenwriters who really did detailed research about the era.
As a songless mainstream movie, there is a global appeal in this story as it portrays the universal struggle of pioneers and correctly shows India in a totally different light far from the global perception restricted to exotic east, snake charmers, Taj and slums.
Written By: Sushant Bhagwat
About WorthItt:
It is a “Digital Platform” which gives an opportunity for all the creative heads to embed their content (via YouTube or Vimeo or Dailymotion or any other alternative sources) — Cloud-based portal (future state) — thus enabling FREE DIGITAL MARKETING to its own content across all its formats.
Visit: https://www.worthitt.com/
