The Silent Filmmaker

It was a screening of The Life of Jesus Christ that inspired Dadasaheb Phalke to make India’s first film,the silent classic titled Raja Harishchandra. The year was 1912 and Phalke had a staff of 40 people,a budget of Rs 25,000,impossible hurdles and unshakable determination. A new play by Delhi-based theatre people Aamir Raza Hussain and Viraat Hussain titled The Forgotten Film has dramatised these and other little-known aspects of Phalke’s life. It will be staged on April 30 as part of the closing ceremony of the Centenary Film Festival being organised by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to mark 100 years of Indian cinema.

“It’s very exciting to have to squeeze such a legendary person’s life into a 55-minute play,even more so because we are also recreating a time period and not just a character,” says Viraat,adding that the play is based on the book,The Silent Film,written by Sharayu Phalke Summanwar,Phalke’s granddaughter. Viraat adds,“The aim is to show how difficult but grand it was to make a film in 1912. We sifted through his personal details,but have focused on his journey as a filmmaker.”

The action evolves through dramatic sequences as well as dance and music,much like a Bollywood film. “People come to watch plays for different reasons,so it’s important that we entertain them,” adds Viraat.

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Phalke is considered to have been the first person to have used a woman actor in a play,and not a man dressed as a woman. He had approached women of a brothel for this role — a scene presented in the play through a Kathak performance.

The second dance comes at the end of the play and celebrates life through a medley of contemporary Hindi film songs.

Is it ironic that an ode to India’s iconic filmmaker is through theatre,a medium that is said to be losing out to the screen? Viraat doesn’t think so. She says that Phalke is well-known for using theatre actors in his films. “There was a time in our country when theatre actors were paid more than film actors. Those were good days,” she says.

The Forgotten Film will be staged at Siri Fort auditorium on April 30 at 7 pm. Entry free