Movie Review - Harishchandrachi Factory – The Birth of Bollywood!

Name of the movie – Harishchandrachi Factory 

Language – Marathi
Genre – Comedy
Year of Release – 2009
Running Time – 97 minutes

In the year 1913, Dhundiraj Govind Phalke, popularly known as Dadasaheb Phalke, directed and produced a silent movie called Raja Harishchandra, thus marking the birth of Indian Cinema and making him the Father of Indian Cinema. In 2009, debutant director Paresh Mokash, attempted to recreate the struggles of Phalke to successfully make India’s first movie through another wonderful movie – Harishchandrachi Factory.  Phalke (played by the very talented Nandu Madhav) is a businessman who just fell out of his partnership with his business partner. The family is struggling to make ends meet when Phalke chances upon a theatre playing motion pictures and is hooked for life. What follows is a witty representation of the numerous problems that the Phalke family had to endure to get the first ever Indian movie made. 

Movie Poster. Source: Google Images

The Director, along with the Art Director, has created pure magic by getting the best out of the sets and the actors. The movie is surprisingly simple and honestly uncomplicated. Every actor is just perfect for the role s/he has been cast into and the Music Director has managed to keep up with the simplicity which is the soul of this movie.

My favourite part of the Movie - There are so many priceless scenes in this movie that you can cherish forever. But none of them are as entertaining as the ones involving Vibhawari Deshpande, who brilliantly portrays the better half of Phalke — Saraswati. The scene where Phalke massages her feet in front of the camera as she is sleeping and her reactions (albeit the scene lasts just a few seconds) to this when she wakes up is exceptional.

My Verdict - More than once we have heard people say that we should not forget our history, heritage, and culture. The making of India’s first movie and the subsequent birth of one of the largest film industries in the world is definitely a part of our history. And if learning history was so much fun, then we all would be really good at it. This is a must-watch for all and it is right at the top of my “must-watch-multiple-times” list.