Raja Harishchandra
About Raja Harishchandra
King Harishchandra is teaching his son Rohitashva the bow when a hunt leads him to interrupt the sage Vishvamitra's sacrifice, and he gives up the kingdom to calm him. Vishvamitra sends the king, Queen Taramati, and the boy into exile and demands a fee. Rohitashva dies, and Taramati, sent to arrange a cremation, is framed for the murder of the prince of Kashi. She pleads guilty, and Harishchandra is ordered to behead her. As he lifts the sword, Shiva appears; Vishvamitra says the trials were a test, returns the crown, and restores the boy.
Cast & crew
More about Raja Harishchandra
Dhundiraj Govind Phalke, called Dadasaheb, wrote, directed, produced, and edited. Trymbak B. Telang was cameraman. Shooting took six months and 27 days and produced about 3,700 feet, four reels. Intertitles are in English, Marathi, and Hindi. No women would take the female roles, so men played them. Anna Salunke plays Taramati. The company camped about a month at Trimbakeshwar. Outdoor scenes were shot at Vangani. Interiors used Phalke's bungalow at Dadar.
Themes
Background
The picture opened in Bombay in 1913, when the feature film was still new in India and mythological stories were the material local producers could stage without imported stars.
Making
Phalke had the men who played women wear saris and do household work, including sifting rice, so the gestures would read. Salunke was cast as Taramati on that basis.
Look
Trymbak B. Telang shot the Dadar interiors and the outdoor scenes at Vangani and Trimbakeshwar.
Preservation
Only the first and last reels are at the National Film Archive of India, which has restored and digitized them. Some historians assign those reels to the 1917 remake.
Notes
- Dattatraya Damodar Dabke plays Harishchandra. Bhalchandra Phalke, the director's son, plays Rohitashva. Gajanan Vasudev Sane plays Vishvamitra.
- A press show was held at the Olympia Theatre, Bombay, on April 21, 1913. The public opening was May 3 at the Coronation Cinematograph and Variety Hall, Girgaon.
- In 1917 the last circulating print caught fire in a bullock cart between theaters. Later prints were recovered from Phalke's children.
- Some historians argue that the reels at the National Film Archive of India belong to Phalke's 1917 remake, Satyavadi Raja Harishchandra, rather than to the 1913 film.
- Dadasaheb Torne's Shree Pundalik opened at the same Girgaon theater on May 18, 1912. It was a filmed play, shot by a British cameraman and processed in London. The Government of India still marks Raja Harishchandra as the first Indian feature.
Scenes
- Harishchandra stops Vishvamitra's sacrifice and offers his kingdom.
- He raises the sword over Taramati, and Shiva appears.
Influenced by
- The legend of King Harishchandra
Influenced
- Satyavadi Raja Harishchandra (1917)
Also available
- Internet Archive (RajaHarishchandra1913)
- Wikimedia Commons (Raja Harishchandra (1913) by Dadasaheb Phalke.webm)
