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Shree Pundalik
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Wikipedia article
'Shree Pundalik', which was released on 18 May 1912 at the Coronation Cinematograph, Girgaum, Mumbai, is sometimes considered the first feature-length Indian film by a minority. The government of India and most scholarly sources consider 'Raja Harishchandra' to be the first Indian feature film, and detractors argue 'Pundalik' was only a photographic recording of a popular play. It was produced and directed by Dadasaheb Torne.
History
'Shree Pundalik' was a silent film without dialogue. Torne and his colleagues Nanasaheb Chitre and Ramrao Kirtikar wrote the shooting script.
'Shree Pundalik' was sent overseas for processing by Dadasaheb Torne. Torne's 'Pundalik' was about 1,500 feet or about 22 minutes long. The film had a shooting script, was shot with a camera, and its negatives were sent to London for processing. Positives were produced and finally released at Coronation Cinematograph, Girgaum. The film ran for two weeks.
Debates about the film
Some writers, film critics and historians like Firoze Rangoonwalla, Arnab Jan Deka, Sanjit Narwekar have argued that Dadasaheb Torne was the father of Indian cinema, as his first directed and produced feature film 'Pundalik' was officially released on 18 May 1912, almost one year before Dadasaheb Phalke's 'Raja Harishchandra', released on 3 May 1913. Arnab Jan Deka published a research paper with the title 'Bharatiya Chalachitrar Janak Bhatawdekar aru Torne' ('Fathers of Indian Cinema Bhatawdekar and Torne') in the daily newspaper 'Dainik Asam' on 27 October 1996. Books on cinema like 'A Pictorial History of Indian Cinema' and 'Marathi Cinema : In Perspective' support this perspective. However, most scholarly sources agree that 'Raja Harishchandra', which was released nearly a year later, is more deserving of the title of the first Indian film. Some have argued that 'Pundalik' does not deserve the honour of being called the first Indian film because it was a photographic recording of a popular Marathi play, and because the cameramana man named Johnsonwas a British national and the film was processed in London.
Centennial
'Shree Pundalik' celebrated its centennial on 18 May 2012.
References
Category:1912 films
Category:Indian silent films
Category:Indian black-and-white films
Category:Filmed stage productions
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